A Generation Later
by Mimi-Marie34
Summary: All Finn, son of Jace and Clary, wants to do is get over the bad breakup he had with his first love. But, when Jacqueline D'Angelo moves to the Institute, his life changes. He finds himself connecting with Jacqueline, a girl he thought he would've hated, but a return by a certain ex-girlfriend makes their slowly-developing romance much more difficult than the two might've thought.
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own TMI. All credit for characters, settings, etc. that you recognize goes to Cassandra Clare.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

**Hi, guys! This is my new TMI fanfiction. It takes place after the events of TMI, and while I want this story to be the best as possible, CoHF hasn't come out yet, so some facts might be a little off with that plot. I would suggest not reading this until after CoLS, I guess, also. **

**In this story, Clary and Jace are running the Institute. I know the Lightwoods owned it during TMI, but, as you'll see, it fits a little better if Clace runs it.**

**I'm not exactly sure what the plot will be. I have two main ideas, but it just came to me a few nights ago, and this is the prologue I wrote. Enjoy!**

Prologue:

A young girl was walking down the streets of New York City. Although she was alone, the first thing anyone noticed about her was the odd lack of color in her face, excluding her crystalline, blue eyes. This girl's hair was an extremely pale blond, which, from a distance, almost looked like pure white. Her skin was pale, too, unblemished.

Her feet splashed through the puddles on the sidewalk, the rain pouring down in heavy sheets. Despite the fact that it was still autumn, it was getting chillier and the girl wasn't wearing a particularly heavy coat. Those walking past this girl pitied her, but not enough to actually do anything other than keep their heads down and hurry to wherever it was they were going.

The girl was used to this. She had been living on the streets of New York City for about two years of her life now. She hadn't slept in a real bed since she lived in the orphanage, and barely had hot meals anymore.

The only real means this girl had of getting food were by playing her guitar and singing along to her music in subway stations and on the street. She had been told she was very good, and might make it big if she worked at it. Still, once a recording company found out that she didn't have a home and there weren't any relatives in the picture, she'd be sent back to the orphanage. The girl didn't want that at all.

This girl didn't really like people at all either — or, rather, she didn't trust them. She had always been shy and quiet, but as she grew older she consciously avoided people. Nowadays it was hard for her to even formulate sentences around them. To make a long story short, the girl just got nervous around people in general.

The only time she really wasn't shy was when she was performing with her guitar. And even then, once she had finished her song she didn't really talk much to her audience. People would comment on her shyness sometimes, but the girl didn't really think much of it. She believed that if she was offended by their remarks, she should just get over her shyness instead.

But she never did open up to people. Of course, she had never really had a person in her life to open up to, but she figured someday she would. She just didn't know when.

The girl continued her walk down the street. She was making her way into a seedier neighborhood, and increased her pace. She didn't like to spend much time in these sorts of areas, and always used an alleyway that gave her a quick shortcut out of there. The girl wasn't really frightened of much — besides other people, that is — but still didn't like this area. It gave her a bad feeling in her gut.

There weren't any other people around, and usually she would be happy about that. But now, she almost wished for the presence of human company. Being this deserted wasn't just frightening — it was creepy. The sunlight wasn't all that strong because of the rain, and there weren't any street lights to provide much in the way of seeing things. The girl regretted coming this way at all, and made a mental note not to come here again. Usually, she wouldn't be this freaked out. But today, for some reason, she felt extremely on edge.

She turned the corner into the alleyway, quickening her pace once again. The rain was falling more heavily now, and she wished she had an umbrella. It was only around four o'clock or so, but the rain and constant covering of clouds made her feel cold, as if it were deep in the nighttime instead of the mid-afternoon.

Just as she was about to turn the second corner, she heard footsteps behind her. Automatically, she jumped and turned around.

The girl found herself face to face with a massive wolf.

Although normal would wonder just _how _the wolf ended up in such an urban area, the girl had grown up in New York City — she had seen all sorts of crazy things before. From people wearing odd costumes to just strange people in general, the girl thought she had seen it all.

But this was not the case. Oh, no, this was definitely not the case.

Nothing compared to this.

She tried to back up, but in a flash the wolf was right beside her. It was so near to her that she could see the yellow in its eyes, the silver streaks through the black fur, and, what frightened her most of all, the menacingly sharp teeth.

The wolf made a semi-circle around her, managing to get the girl pushed up against the wet wall. She didn't even have time to think about how scared she was once the wolf had knocked her onto the ground.

She slid her left arm beneath her to prevent her from hitting her head on the pavement. Still, she could hear the sickening crack the sound of breaking bones made, and winced in pain.

The wolf was looming over her now, and as it leaned in, the girl weakly tried to push it away from her. But a broken arm made a girl very tired, and her half-hearted attempt to defend herself was easily avoided by the wolf. The wolf leaned in once more, about to….

Suddenly the wolf was knocked away, but as it fell gave one more desperate swipe of its paw. The sharp claws made a cut across her face, and blood could be felt running down her cheeks. They mixed in with the rain.

Automatically, the girl knew she had a way of escaping — the wolf, after all, had been flung away by goodness knows what. Abruptly standing up, the girl praying she could just get home and clean her cut and eat some food and —

"Wait, hold on!" a woman's voice said. She wasn't very tall, but she was definitely bigger than the girl. Her hair, so it seemed, had once been red, but its color had faded to a more muted shade. A few gray hairs ran through it, too. The girl thought the woman to be in her mid to late thirties.

"I'm Clary Herondale," the woman said breathlessly.


	2. Chapter One

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I'm completely amazed at the follows and favorites I got for this story! I'm so excited — but I would love to hear exactly what you think of my story through a review. Please? Thanks. :)

Chapter One:

Jacqueline D'Angelo awoke in an unfamiliar room. She was dazed, not really getting a good feel for her surroundings, but she imagined she was in a hospital of some sort.

Carefully, she pressed a finger to her temple. Jacqueline didn't feel any more blood, and sighed in relief. She hated blood and avoided looking at it as much as she could. Oftentimes she'd pass out from the sight of it, which was probably, Jacqueline thought, what had happened after the wolf. She still didn't understand that. _Perhaps I had dreamt it all up, _she thought.

_You did not dream it up, Jacqueline._

The voice in her head was not her own, nor were those thoughts her thoughts. Jacqueline whipped her head around, white-blond hair moving quickly and shielding her eyes for a moment. Brushing it away carefully, she found herself face to face with something that didn't look quite… human.

The figure standing before her had no eyes, just indents where they would normally be. Its mouth was stitched close, and it was wearing a heavy, dark-colored hood.

Jacqueline screamed, her nails clenching into her pale knuckles. She was so frightened she couldn't speak, she couldn't move, she couldn't _think_. All she could do was panic. Where was she? Was she dreaming? _Please, please let me be dreaming, _Jacqueline thought, panicked.

_Jacqueline D'Angelo, please be quiet while I explain. We are not going to hurt you. _Jacqueline assumed that the figure standing before her was the one speaking into her head, but how he was doing that, she had no idea.

"Who are you?" Jacqueline whispered. "Why are you — _how _are you doing this?"

_Jacqueline, you're part of a race known as the Nephilim. _

"What are you talking about?" Jacqueline normally would've continued letting this person speak, as she was so shy, but for some reason, she felt compelled to ask. This didn't feel like reality to her. What did this person mean, anyway, that she was part of a different race?

_The Nephilim are humans with angelic blood. They are more commonly known as Shadowhunters, for their work in killing the demons of Hell. _

"And you're saying I'm one of them? There must be some mistake; I'm… I'm not anyone important."

_We — the group I'm part of, the Silent Brothers — have searched through your mind. You are, Jacqueline D'Angelo, most definitely a Shadowhunter. _

"Demons aren't real—" Jacqueline protested, but was quiet upon hearing the Silent Brother speak into her mind again.

_The wolf that attacked you was a demon. At first, we thought it was a werewolf, but it died after Clary Herondale killed it, defending herself. It was a demon, though not normally seen._

Jacqueline almost spoke again, ready to tell this man he was lying, but she stopped herself. It was, after all, a habit of hers to stay silent, but that wasn't the only reason. Didn't this make sense? Growing up, Jacqueline had seen all sorts of strange things. Perhaps they had been demons, not just what she had blamed on her overactive imagination. The things she thought she saw lurking in corners… Not shadows, but _demons_.

Jacqueline always thought she was too trusting, but suddenly said, "I believe you."

_Well, that's good. For I have much to explain to you._

And for the next hour or so, the Silent Brother — who later introduced himself as Brother Elijah — explained to her about the world of Shadowhunters. From the Mortal Instruments and Valentine Morgenstern to Idris and Downworlders, Jacqueline felt like she had gotten a history lesson from the tutor who used to work at her old orphanage. Although, this one wasn't quite so boring.

"But… what if I don't want to stay here?" Jacqueline asked

_The Clave requires that parentless, underage Shadowhunters stay at the Institute, which is where you are now._

Jacqueline wanted to say that she had a life back there, but realized that staying somewhere with a real bed and hot food might be good for her. Besides, she was fifteen — that was only a few years away from being eighteen, an adult in this world. Then she could leave and do… something. Get a real job, maybe. She'd stay here for now, she decided.

"Hi, Jacqueline," a voice said. Jacqueline looked over to see Clary Herondale. She looked a little different now, not wearing gear (something else Brother Elijah had explained to her), though Runes stood out on her skin.

"Hi," Jacqueline said quietly. Of course, to Jacquelineshe didn't speak softly at all, but to the rest of the world… Well, it was a different story.

"You feeling better?" she asked kindly. "You _look _better, anyway. The _iratzes _did a good job."

Jacqueline just nodded. "Thank you," she said after a moment, "for letting me stay here." It was a simple Jacqueline-response — polite and kind, but not really saying much at all.

"It's not a problem," Clary said, pulling up a chair next to Jacqueline's position on bed. She ran her Marked arms through her somewhat red hair. "I've been through this before, too," she told Jacqueline, a little more quietly. "I didn't know I was a Shadowhunter, either, until I was your age. It's going to be overwhelming, but if you need anything or want any questions answered, just ask me, okay?"

Jacqueline smiled shyly. "Thanks." Brother Elijah had told her all about famous Clary Herondale, and the man whom she once thought was her brother, Jace Herondale. Jacqueline couldn't help but envy the love they had for each other — a love that had seemed to be a terrible twist of fate turned out to be something that could withstand anything. It wasn't that Jacqueline wanted a boyfriend or anything — she just wanted to know that _someone _out there cared whether she lived or died.

"Oh, one more thing before I leave," Clary said. "Did Brother Elijah tell you about what training's like?"

"Yes," Jacqueline responded.

"Well, my son, Finn, is going to be training you. He's about your age."

Jacqueline automatically felt nervous. A boy? An experienced Shadowhunter was going to be training _her_? Jacqueline had never really been athletic, and learning how to use different blades and weaponry just seemed like it would be a futile effort with her. And though Jacqueline was shy around all people, among boys it was far worse. She stuttered around them sometimes, and she was prone to blushing.

Noting her expression, Clary then added as she was reaching for the doorknob, "He won't be a problem, I promise. Oh, and feel free to come downstairs for dinner if you feel like it — otherwise I'll just get someone to bring it up here for you."

And with that, she was out the door.


	3. Chapter Two

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue. Also, for the song Jacqueline sings in this chapter, I do not own it. All credit goes to the Plain White T's — they are not my words and I don't claim them to be.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Yay, I got reviews on my last chapter! Thank you so, so, SO much! I really appreciate the time you've invested in reading this story. And yes, as most of you requested, you are meeting Finn this chapter. So read on… :)

Chapter Two

Clary leaves the room, and Jacqueline breathed a sigh of relief. So much had happened — it was truly astounding to realize that she was part of a superhuman race, that things like demons and werewolves and vampires actually existed. Jacqueline wondered again if she was dreaming or something, perhaps hallucinating, but still… Everything felt so _real_.

Per usual, Jacqueline usually went to music (namely, her guitar) when she felt overwhelmed. She didn't always pick songs to play that related to her emotions — although they did often — but today she was just going to play one of her favorites. It would soothe her nerves and, hopefully, relax her.

Thankfully, someone had left her guitar in the corner of the room. Gingerly she stood up, not wanting to injure herself when she already wasn't in her best condition, and opened her guitar case. Inside was her beaten-up acoustic guitar. It was a simple tan, the standard shade, and although Jacqueline cared for it, its constant use made it appear a little older than it was.

There weren't really any comfortable chairs in the Infirmary, but Jacqueline really could play anywhere. Making your living performing in subway stations did that to a girl. Taking her pick, Jacqueline strummed the guitar lightly — she didn't want to annoy the rest of the Institute.

_Hey there, Delilah, _she sang softly, her pick strumming the guitar strings perfectly. She was a soprano, she thought, but never having proper vocal lessons left her unsure.

_What's it like in New York City? I'm a thousand miles away, but girl, tonight you look so pretty, yes you do. Times Square can't shine as bright as you. I swear it's true…_

And, like she always did, Jacqueline allowed herself to get lost in the melody of the Plain White T's.

After finishing singing the song, Jacqueline exhaled. She had sung it so many times before, and her voice hit the notes easily with all her practice. Although she performed it sometimes, it was a little bit personal for her, considering it was the song she sang most often. Jacqueline preferred to keep it private, which was why she had made sure the door was firmly closed before she began playing.

She could still, however, smell something cooking. The orphanage always had mediocre to poorly-tasting food, but Jacqueline could tell that this was something good. She didn't want to go talk with strangers yet, not with so many of them all at one time. Jacqueline hated to admit, though, how hungry she was. Before being attacked by the wolf-demon-thing, she hadn't eaten any food all day. Talking with Brother Elijah had made her forget that, but now Jacqueline could hear her stomach growling.

She was wearing her clothes from earlier, but miraculously they didn't have any blood on them. Her hair was a disaster, but Jacqueline was so used to fixing it without a mirror that she managed to sweep it up into a high ponytail despite the lack of a reflection. Jacqueline had never been one to wear makeup, mostly because she couldn't afford it, so she didn't even worry about the fact that she didn't have mascara or lip gloss or whatever.

With everything being said, she hurried out the door. It was, unfortunately, difficult to find the dining room. This hallway only seemed to have bedrooms, so she tried going downstairs instead. This seemed to be the main floor, so she turned into the biggest room in the middle of the corridor, thinking it was the dining room.

She, of course, wasn't right.

Jacqueline turned into a big, wide-open space. It reminded her of what gymnasiums looked like on television, though she wasn't certain. The room had a high ceiling, and scattered weapons lined the floor and walls. Some looked like normal knives and blades, but others looked much more intricately-designed and complex.

There was a boy in the middle of the room, looking around the same age as her. He was throwing knives at a target, dressed in all black. He looked athletic — his arms were toned, but not so muscular that it was gruesome, he was tall, and he appeared to be comfortable in this training room.

"Can I _help _you?" the boy said coldly, turning his green eyes to face hers, his blond hair falling into his eyes slightly. There was a flash of recognition in those eyes, and for a moment Jacqueline wondered if she had met him before. Still, that wasn't possible — he was a Shadowhunter, obviously, by the Marks across his fair skin.

"I…um…I…" Jacqueline tried to respond, but she couldn't help how nervous she got around strangers. It didn't help that the boy was very attractive, either.

"Well?" the boy asked impatiently, taking a few steps closer to her. Now she could see that his hair wasn't as blond as she thought. It had an ever-so-slight bit of auburn in it, but not much. It was nerve-wracking to have him so close to her, and Jacqueline could feel her heart racing.

"S-sorry," she said quietly, not very strongly like he did. "I was j-just looking for the d-d-dining room."

"Did you happen to ask someone where to go, instead of interrupting my practice?" he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"T-there's no n-need to be so rude," Jacqueline said, a little more loudly this time.

The boy raised his eyebrows. "What's your name?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Jacqueline," she said simply, wondering how he could change emotions so quickly. Personally, Jacqueline was surprised by the way she stood up to him — that never happened with anyone, especially not boys.

"I'm Finn," he said gruffly, not extending his hand for Jacqueline to shake.

Jacqueline decided that she didn't want to mention that _he _was supposed to be training her. She figured it would make him madder than he was already. She already was annoyed that she would have to deal with someone as nasty as he was for multiple training sessions.

"Well, you might as well come with me to the dining room," Finn said. "There's no point in me practicing anymore, now that you barged in."

He jogged over to the door, and Jacqueline just watched him go. Ugh, he was going to be a pain to deal with, especially considering Jacqueline's shyness and stuttering.

"Are you coming or not?"

Jacqueline rolled her eyes, and, biting her lip, followed him out the door.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Well, that's Finn for you! I know it's not very detailed, but I would love to hear what you think! (In other words, review please!) Next chapter will be dinner with the rest of the Institute gang, I think. Thanks for reading — I hope you enjoyed it!


	4. Chapter Three

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **So, Finn Herondale, huh? He's mean for a reason, I promise, but that probably won't be revealed for awhile...Anyways, read on! I hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter Three

"You walk too slowly," Finn said, turning to look at Jacqueline. He was clearly irritated. If he was always like this, Jacqueline thought that this training thing would be a waste of both of their time. "You live in the city, don't you?" Finn asked. "Isn't every person in New York always racing to get _somewhere_?"

Jacqueline didn't say anything and just shrugged in response. Usually, with these sorts of people, she would just let them continue talking. Finn already struck her as arrogant, and she presumed he could carry out a conversation without her.

"You're quiet, aren't you? Another rarity in New York," Finn continued saying. It was true, Jacqueline thought — he definitely liked hearing the sound of his own voice better than anyone else's.

"I j-just don't like t-talking," Jacqueline protested quietly, silently cursing her inability to speak a sentence coherently.

"I'd gathered that, actually," Finn replied, rolling his eyes.

"Well, then excellent observation s-skills, Sherlock," she responded sarcastically. Someone needed to put this boy in his place. _Although,_ she thought, _the new, shy girl probably shouldn't be the one to teach that lesson. _

After that comment, though, Finn remained silent (thank goodness) until he stopped in front of a large doorway. "We're here," he told her.

Jacqueline felt her stomach clench for what felt like the thousandth time today. More new people… And they would all be watching _her_… "Isn't there a b-back entrance or s-something?" Jacqueline asked nervously, twirling a piece of her hair around her finger.

"Shy, aren't we?" Finn laughed, opening the door. "Well, in that case… HEY, everybody! Look who's here!"

He had obviously done it, introducing her to the entire room, just because he knew she was shy. Her suspicions were confirmed when Jacqueline saw him raise his eyebrows and gave a huge, fake smile towards her.

Automatically, Jacqueline tried to walk away from the door. She could just hide in her room or something, giving a reason later as to why she had ditched dinner. Jacqueline started formulating excuses inside her head — she had fallen ill, perhaps, or had forgotten something in her room. But, before she could get away, Finn grabbed her wrist.

"Oh, no, you don't," Finn said, shaking his head, and grabbed her wrist to pull her through the doorway.

"Hi," Jacqueline said softly, giving a weak smile as she looked at everyone around her. There was Clary, sitting at the head of the table, and a blond man she could only assume was Finn's father sitting beside her. What was his name? Brother Elijah had told her… Jace, was it? Yes, that was it!

A little, redheaded girl came running up to Jacqueline. She appeared to be only three or four years old; she wasn't sure. "Hello!" the girl said, grinning an adorable smile. "I'm Lizzie!"

Little kids weren't so bad to talk to, at least in Jacqueline's mind. They didn't, for some reason, make her quite so nervous. "Hey, Lizzie," Jacqueline responded, looking down towards the girl and smiling softly back at her. "I'm Jacqueline. It's nice to meet you."

There was no hint of condescension in Jacqueline's voice — she talked to younger kids pretty much the same way she talked to everyone: quietly, politely, and kindly.

"Will you come and sit by me? Please?" Lizzie asked, and Jacqueline couldn't resist. Besides, if it could get her away from standing in front of this group of people, Jacqueline didn't care if Lizzie had green skin and four eyes. That's how much she hated being in front of people.

Jacqueline let the little girl drag her to a seat at the table. There was a big dish of spaghetti and meatballs in the center of the table, and Jacqueline thought it smelt delicious. She didn't take any of it just yet — she figured she would, unfortunately, have to do introductions before eating.

"Well, I see you've met Finn, haven't you?" Clary said, gesturing towards her son. Finn had already taken a seat at the table, putting several cupsful of pasta onto his plate. "Will you _stop _eating for just a minute, please?" Clary told Finn. She didn't really sound angry. It was more that she was just teasing him. It was also obvious how much she loved him, just like any mother does, from that one simple sentence.

"Okay, can we go around the table and say names?" Clary addressed the table.

"I'm Christopher," a brown-haired, middle-school aged boy said. He wore glasses, and a book was next to him at the table.

Another boy sat next to Christopher, this one looking a little more athletic. "I'm his twin, Isaac."

Across the table, a girl a little younger than Jacqueline (but very pretty, Jacqueline noticed) said, "And I'm Vanessa."

"And this," Clary gestured to the infant in her arms said, "is Edward."

"I still," Jace spoke up, "don't understand why we called him that, just so everyone knows." Again, Jacqueline noted that although he was teasing, she could still hear the love in his voice.

"Which is why I agreed to let you call him Eddy," Clary said exasperatedly, rolling her eyes and laughing. Jacqueline could tell that they both really loved each other, and smiled as she watched them. For some reason, the atmosphere of the dining room relaxed her. She couldn't remember the last time that she actually had felt very comfortable around people. And it surprised her.

It was clear that Clary and Jace's "argument" was a common one, because Vanessa was laughing at them as she asked Jacqueline, "So, how did you meet Finn already?"

"Oh," Jacqueline said quietly, "I was looking for the dining room, and I ended up in the training room instead. Finn was, um, practicing, and he showed me how to get here."

"It's good that you've seen it," Vanessa replied. "You're going to be in there a lot, if Finn's going to be training you."

"I'm sorry, _what_?" Finn dropped his fork onto his plate.

It was _very_ clear to Jacqueline that he was angry about the prospect of her.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Sorry that this wasn't the greatest chapter. I was in a rush, but I hope you'll forgive me and maybe write a review anyway… :)


	5. Chapter Four

**DISCLAIMER:** See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Alright, a lot of my reviewers were asking about if all the people I mentioned in Chapter Three were Shadowhunters or not, if they were Herondales or not, etc. I was actually going to get to that in this chapter (and I still am) but I'll include a list of who's who in my final author's note. Also, a special thanks to roselinta07 for her really nice review on Chapter Three.

Okay, well, here's Chapter Four. Enjoy! :)

Chapter Four

"You're training Jacqueline, aren't you, Finn?" Vanessa asks, raising her eyebrows. "Unless I heard it wrong, but —"

"I just hadn't heard anything about it," Finn said stiffly, his voice a little less shocked and a little more cold than it had been earlier. "Besides, Ness, why can't _you _do it?"

Clary interrupted the two of them, interjecting with, "Because Vanessa is only fourteen, and she is younger and less experienced than you, Finn. You're the oldest — it's your responsibility. And it's not a big deal."

"He's just mad because his girlfriend broke up with him," Vanessa muttered, rolling her eyes and twirling a piece of pasta on her fork. "He's always in a bad mood now."

"Shut _up_, Ness," Finn said coldly, though it was clear Vanessa had struck a nerve. "It's none of your business."

"Finn." Jace looked over at his son, giving off the stern impression that only a father could pull off. It signaled that whatever you were doing right now, you'd better stop it.

"Whatever," Finn said, and with that, he stalked out of the room, his fingers running through his hair.

—•—

Clary tried to continue the meal as best as she could, even after the minor disaster with Finn. To her credit, Jacqueline thought she'd done well. Jacqueline still felt shy around everyone, but when Clary noticed she was getting uncomfortable, she steered the conversation to another topic, one that didn't really involve her. Although, people did ask her questions from time to time and try to make her feel included — which Jacqueline thought was very nice of them. It wasn't as bad as she thought it could have been, all said and done.

After dinner was over, Jacqueline cleaned up her plate of food. While rinsing it off in the kitchen sink, Vanessa beckoned to her.

"C'mon," she told Jacqueline, "I'll show you the way to your room."

"Thanks," Jacqueline replied. Now that she had some time, she observed Vanessa slightly. She really was pretty, Jacqueline thought, what with her contrastingly colored features. Her eyes were dark brown, as was her hair, but her skin was very pale. Although she was young, her stature had a certain toughness and athletic sense about them that made her look unique.

"Sorry about what you had to see with Finn," Vanessa said casually as they walked upstairs. "He's a real pain sometimes. Well, all of the time, really."

"It's okay," said Jacqueline. "Is he your brother?"

"Nope. Thank God — I don't think I could deal with him all the time." Vanessa laughed a little, continuing with, "I'm actually related to Chris and Isaac's grandma, though, since I'm Vanessa Trueblood. So the twins are like my distant cousins or something."

"And the twins are… Lewises, right?" Jacqueline asked, still feeling a little confused by the complicated genealogy she'd learned earlier today.

"Yeah, Brother Elijah told you, right?" Vanessa said. "Isabelle Lightwood and Simon Lewis got married, which is sort of weird because Simon's immortal… But they're making it work, somehow. I don't know, I don't really get it, but Simon doesn't really look sixteen anymore. They developed some sort of way to make him look a little older." Vanessa shrugged. "Simon has some sort of music thing that he does, and Isabelle is in Idris part-time. They travel so much that they just have them stay with Clary and Jace every so often, because Chris and Isaac are so young."

"And Lizzie and Eddy are Herondales?"

"Exactly," Vanessa replied. "They're Finn's siblings."

"Thanks for telling me all this," Jacqueline said as they reached what she thought was her floor.

"Hey, it's not a problem. Let me know if you need anything, okay?" Vanessa asked, leading Jacqueline to her door.

Jacqueline nodded, and went inside her room.

—•—

Jacqueline was just sitting around on the window seat that overlooked the city. If she could draw, she might paint it, it looked that spectacular. It was nice to be alone with her thoughts like this, she thought. So much had happened in one day that she wondered if she would just wake up tomorrow, outside in her usual spot, ready to play her guitar again.

Suddenly she heard a knock on her door. It was late, probably around midnight or so, and she wondered who would actually want to talk to her at this hour.

"Come in," she said softly, thanking God that she wasn't wearing her pajamas yet and still looked relatively decent.

"Hey." Finn's voice came in through the doorway, and Jacqueline could only imagine how shocked she looked at that moment. Why was Finn Herondale, of all people, here in her bedroom late at night?

"Um…h-hello," Jacqueline said, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.

"I, uh, just wanted to say I was sorry," he said after a moment's silence. "It wasn't really fair to get so pissed about training you before."

Jacqueline just shrugged — although she liked it when people were kind to each other, apologies just seemed like a waste to her. Most of the time, she thought, people didn't mean them anyway. To_ show_ her that they were really sorry was key, at least in Jacqueline's eyes.

"Well, uh, yeah. Ness, I mean, Vanessa, was right when she said I've been angry lately. But it's not really directed at you, so… that's it, I guess. See you around."

And with that, he was out the door again. Jacqueline was, obviously, confused. It didn't really seem in character for Finn Herondale to apologize, even if she'd only known him for a little while. Should she be impressed by his apology, then? Jacqueline didn't particular _want _to accept it, but she always thought she was too trusting for her own good. Perhaps he deserved her forgiveness… Still, it wasn't like he had done anything to prove that he had repented…

Jacqueline ended up rolling her eyes at herself. Why did it matter? Really, she would only be seeing Finn during training, which would be a few times a week at most. To spend this much time thinking about whether or not to accept his apology was a waste of time.

She, Jacqueline decided, would just have to wait and see how everything played out in the morning.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **So, the ex-girlfriend finally comes into play. That's a big part of the story, I'm just warning you now… :) Anyways, so here's our family list.

Finn is sixteen, Lizzie is four, and Eddy is only a few months old. They're Herondales.

Christopher and Isaac are twins and are both eleven. They're Lewises, sons of Isabelle and Simon.

Vanessa is fourteen. She's a Trueblood. (Maryse Lightwood was a Trueblood before marrying Robert, so Vanessa is a cousin of the twins.)

Please review! Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter Five

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue. Also, with this chapter, there will be weapons involved. I just want to tell everyone that I'm not a weapons expert — this is all basically coming from Google — and I don't claim to be. It's only to enhance Finn and Jacqueline's training sessions.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Sorry for the wait on this update! I was very busy with Easter and schoolwork this week. Anyways, here's Chapter Five! Some Finn/Jacqueline action going on here… Yay! :)

Chapter Five

Jacqueline had never felt quite so tired in her entire life.

At least, that's what she was thinking at the moment — she might be exaggerating, although it felt like the truth at the moment. After Finn had left her bedroom last night, she'd spent most of the night awake. No, she had _not _been contemplating his random apology. (She wasn't even sure if she liked him yet.) Mostly, Jacqueline had just thought about the sudden turn her life had taken. She'd gone from living on the streets, playing her guitar just to get by, to being told she was part of a supernatural race and had angelic blood running through her veins.

It was quite a lot to take in, in Jacqueline's opinion.

But now, after a hurried breakfast downstairs with Lizzie, Clary had told Jacqueline to go to the training room and get ready for her lesson with Finn. Vanessa had come along, helping Jacqueline get into the strange training gear. Vanessa had told her she looked great, but she didn't really believe her. It was odd, wearing this sort of… armor. At least it fit her, though.

After finishing getting changed and tying her hair into a high ponytail, Jacqueline went outside into the training room. Finn was standing on top of a wooden beam, high above the ground. He looked bored, and, Jacqueline noticed, slightly irritated. There's a shock.

She was about to say something when Finn suddenly threw himself off the top of the rafter. Jacqueline panicked, screaming as he fell through the air. It didn't matter that she barely knew him — he was legitimately falling through the air!

But, perhaps when he was ten feet away from the ground, Finn did a full twist and landed gracefully on his feet in a crouch.

_Stupid Shadowhunters_¸ Jacqueline thought. _What a show-off._ She had, of course, forgotten that Shadowhunters trained for all this and Finn wasn't trying to kill himself.

"Worried about me, are you, Jack?" Finn teased, raising his eyebrows.

Ignoring him, Jacqueline said incredulously, "Jack?"

"Your new nickname." Finn pulled his hair away from his eyes as he spoke, seeing as it had fallen into them as he did his little flippy-trick thing.

"But w-why 'Jack?'" she asked. It was a little out of character for her to be so questioning, but this boy brought out a different side to her. "Why not J-Jackie or s-something?" _Like any normal person_, she added in the back of her mind.

"I don't like any names longer than one syllable," Finn stated, as if it were the most obvious fact in the world.

Jacqueline just shrugged, not really wanting to get into an argument with him. And, although she hated to admit it, Finn was the only person at the Institute that she wasn't the slightest bit comfortable with. With people she wasn't comfortable with, she automatically was shyer than she normally was.

Especially with boys as attractive as Finn.

"Well, there's no point just standing here," Finn said. "Let's get started."

He led her over to the wall that had a few weapons, though they all looked fairly… basic to use. They were small and didn't have the same sort of intricacy and design that those of the others Jacqueline had seen had.

Noting her expression, Finn looked over at her again, "Look, you're not going to be all that good at first. These are going to be easier for you to use." He didn't sound particularly nice or kind about it — she doubted he was ever nice and kind. "Besides," he added, "you'll never be as good as me." And again, he spoke as if the rest of the world should know these things.

"Arrogance i-isn't really a r-redeeming quality, Finn," Jacqueline blurted out. Immediately she blushed slightly, though he wasn't even really paying attention anymore. Despite the fact that he hadn't heard her (yet), Jacqueline wondered why it was that her shyness with him fluctuated so much. One minute, Jacqueline wasn't speaking at all, and the next she was standing up for herself and calling him arrogant. It didn't make any sense, for it was as if her comfortableness with him varied from time to time.

Jacqueline had never, ever felt comfortable around anyone.

"Here." Finn, after scanning the wall, handed her a silver, sharply-pointed dagger. "I'm just going to show you how to hold it, and then we'll work on aiming."

Jacqueline took the knife in her hand, folding her fingers around it carefully. "Like this?" she asked.

"Close," Finn told her. He demonstrated on his own knife, holding it a little closer to the end than she had been. "You want to hold it near the back, that way it flips through the air and hits your target with more power."

Moving the tips of her fingers back lightly, so as not to drop the knife, Jacqueline held it up again for Finn.

"Alright, good enough." Finn's voice didn't convince her that she was actually doing this correctly, but Jacqueline looked over at his knife and saw that her fingers were in the exact same position his were. _I guess girls can't be better than Mr. "I'm better than everyone else" over here_, Jacqueline thought.

"Now watch," he instructed. He positioned himself about thirty feet away from a target that hung on the opposite wall. With precise and careful movements, he pulled his arm back and launched the weapon through the air. Jacqueline watched the elegant movements of the knife as it twisted itself… and landed almost dead-center in the target.

"Nice shot," Jacqueline murmured. And she was supposed to do that too? Finn had made this look effortless, but she knew that it would be much harder.

"Well, go on," said Finn, gesturing to the target.

Jacqueline's eyes widened. Already? She thought he was going to show her again or something. Or maybe she was just hoping that she wouldn't mess up in front of the experienced Shadowhunter — Jacqueline didn't know.

Taking a deep breath, Jacqueline closed her eyes for just a second or two. They always said visualizing your goal helped you actually achieve it. She hoped they were right. Jacqueline flexed her fingers, tightening them around the knife in preparation. _God, I hope I don't screw this up_, were Jacqueline's last thoughts as she pulled the weapon back slightly.

And she let the knife fly.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I don't know when the next update will be, because school starts up again for me on Monday. Yay :/ And I'm not sure what I want to do with the next chapter anyway. If you have any ideas, maybe you could tell me in a review? Thanks, and I hope you liked this chapter!


	7. Chapter Six

**DISCLAIMER:** See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **A little more is revealed about Jacqueline here… That's about it, I guess. Enjoy! :)

Chapter Six

Watching as the knife flew through the air, Jacqueline sucked in a breath… and she blinked when the knife hit the target, unable to believe her eyes.

Although not directly in the center, the knife was far closer to the middle than Finn's had been only seconds previously. _Take that, _Jacqueline thought wryly, suppressing a grin. It was quite funny to see Finn's expression — though his mouth wasn't gaping open like she'd hoped for, he had a look of stony silence on his face. It wasn't a big deal — Jacqueline imagined she'd just had "beginner's luck" — but Finn seemed to be almost… angry about it.

Looking over at her, Finn raised his eyebrow slightly. "Where did you live before this? Another Institute?"

"No," Jacqueline said quickly, shrugging. Although she wasn't lying, Jacqueline hated bringing up where she'd lived, and hadn't planned on doing so at all during her stay here. It was embarrassing to have to live on the streets. And to _choose _to live there, instead of just staying at the orphanage like any _normal _person…

She brushed the thoughts away quickly. There were reasons she had left the orphanage. But with reasons came memories, memories reminding Jacqueline of pain and cruelty by people. Without even thinking, she rubbed the tiny tattoo on the inside of her right wrist.

"What's that?" She heard Finn's curious voice and was grateful he didn't sound so angry anymore. And that he'd changed the subject away from places she'd lived.

"Nothing!" Jacqueline's lie was a little too quick, and despite Finn's knowing, green eyes that suggested he'd seen right through it, he dropped the subject.

She reminded herself to keep the tattoo hidden, and drew her sleeve over her wrist, unnoticed. If people saw the tattoo, it would lead to unnecessary questions — why had she gotten it, for example? Why had she run away in the first place?

Those were things she didn't want to talk about.

At all.

"C-can we j-just move on?" Jacqueline asked, her voice slightly tense and frustrated. Too many things were running through her mind, and she should only be focusing on one thing: training.

"What?" Finn had turned back to teasing her, all traces of irritation disappearing from his tone. "You think you're so good at throwing knives now, because you got lucky?"

Jacqueline shrugged, giving a small smile. "I c-came closer than y-you did."

"I'll give you that," Finn said, laughing slightly. He had a nice laugh, Jacqueline noticed. "But your technique still isn't perfect. C'mon, I'll show you."

Gesturing to her, Jacqueline grabbed her knife out of the target with surprising ease. That had been another surprising thing, something she'd been distracted by when thoughts of the orphanage came up. Throwing the knife had been easier than she'd expected. Like, _much _easier.

It was odd. Jacqueline had never been all that talented in athletics, though it wasn't like she got much of a chance to try. But with the knife in her hand, it had felt more natural than she thought it would have been.

Maybe she really was cut out for this Shadowhunter stuff.

Standing closer to Finn, Jacqueline held the knife out again, preparing for him to demonstrate on his weapon, like he had done before.

But once again, Finn surprised her. Instead of just showing her, he took her fingers in his own and slid them in the correct position on the knife. "Like this, see?" he said. "Now just tighten your thumb"— he moved his entire hand around hers, instead of just his fingers — "and there you go."

Jacqueline exhaled a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Ever since leaving the orphanage, she didn't like letting other people touch her. Though she didn't want to think about it in that moment, it was a bit of a habit for her to jerk away from someone else's touch. She had developed a better resistance to it than she had, say, a year ago, but it was plain to see how much more relaxed she was after Finn had released his hand from hers.

But, Jacqueline thought, Finn's touch, though making her nervous, made her a little less nervous than other people's did.

—•—

"C-could we p-please take a break?" Jacqueline asked quietly, her breath shallow and her stance hunched over.

"Tired already, Jack?" Finn looked the same as ever, even after practicing for almost three and a half hours. "Fine. We might as well go get lunch anyway — it's almost twelve."

_Yeah, we've only trained for the _entire _morning_, Jacqueline thought bitterly. She hoped it was the lack of sleep that was making her think this way. Or maybe it was just Finn. She didn't know.

He was a good teacher, she supposed, but he acted as if he knew everything. He was arrogant like that, but Jacqueline had to admit that she was much better at throwing knives than she had been earlier. He'd started teaching her how to throw a correct punch, as well, though Jacqueline was clearly worse at that than knife-throwing. She did, however, think that _Finn_ might deserve a good punch to the nose, if only to make him stop talking.

After getting changed back into a pair of jeans Vanessa had lent her — despite being younger than her, Vanessa was quite tall and everything fit Jacqueline well — she and Finn walked back down the hallway, towards the dining room.

"You're actually not that bad, Jack," Finn told her as they walked.

"Thanks." Jacqueline wasn't being dry or sarcastic, because it actually meant something to her that a Shadowhunter thought she wasn't a complete failure at this.

He didn't say anything else until they reached the dining room door. Jacqueline let him go in first, and was about to follow after him when he slammed the door shut, leaning against the wall with closed eyes.

"What _are _you d-doing?" Jacqueline asked.

"Kristal's in there." Finn sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Kristal?"

"My ex-girlfriend."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Yeah, I sort of ended on a cliffhanger. Sorry. But I hoped you liked the background info (or, sort of background info) on Jacqueline. And now our lovely little ex-girlfriend has a name… ;)


	8. Chapter Seven

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I tried to make this chapter longer based on one of my reviews. It's about 1600 words or so, which is longer than usual. Speaking of reviews, I got five on the last chapter! I'm super excited! Anyways, I'm not giving any hints about what this chapter is about… except that it will include a flashback.

Chapter Seven

Jacqueline, though never having had a boyfriend herself, felt badly for the boy standing ahead of her. Finn's eyes were still closed, though she could tell, just from the way he was leaning against the wall, how angry he was. But there was something a little more than just plain anger in his expression, as well. Although Finn was clearly trying to hide it, Jacqueline noticed how sad he looked. It was odd, to describe Finn Herondale as being sad. But it was certainly there.

"Well, c'mon," she said, a little more loudly than she usually spoke. It was mostly just to get Finn to snap out of his thoughts, and she was surprised to see that it had worked, as he was finally facing her. Thank goodness. "Go in there, and show her t-that y-you're over her."

"It's not that simple," he muttered, running a hand through his fair-colored hair. He took a few steps away from the door. "I doubt you'd understand."

"Try me," Jacqueline said, shrugging her shoulders and raising her eyebrows. It was odd, to hear herself so much more confidently than she had before coming to the Institute. It was like a personality swap, or something. She hadn't even stuttered as badly as she usually did.

Jacqueline was too lost in her thoughts to even notice when Finn took a few steps closer to her and grabbed her wrist tightly. "W-what are y-you—"

"Shut up and follow me, Jack." Finn's voice was tense and harsh, the words falling effortlessly and smoothly from his mouth.

He pulled her down the hallway, his grip tightening even more on her wrist — if that was possible. Jacqueline felt her stomach clench tightly, her heart's beating escalating. This was like the orphanage all over again — Mrs. Ferrival, the woman who ran the orphanage, would hold her so tightly that Jacqueline couldn't shake her grip. She would do anything she could to slow down Mrs. Ferrival's movements, but being the skinny, young ten-year-old she was… Well, that wasn't always possible.

She would be led into a dark room most of the time, usually a guest bedroom that was never used. "Just keep your mouth shut, girl," Mrs. Ferrival would tell her. And Jacqueline, in her futile response, would try to yell. But they were always so far away from the rest of the children in the orphanage that it wasn't possible.

Jacqueline almost always knew why Mrs. Ferrival would hit her. Sometimes it was because she'd had a smart-alecky sort of response to something Mrs. Ferrival had said, usually when she was forcing the kids in the orphanage to work for hours on end.

But one time, a girl, maybe five years old — Jacqueline only a few years older, at eight — had asked for some more food at dinnertime. The girl, Lucy, had just come to the orphanage after her mother had passed away. The mother had raised Lucy by herself, with no other family members to help her, and when she'd passed away, Lucy had moved into the orphanage. Lucy's mother had been poor, Jacqueline had heard from an older girl, and although Lucy was used to not having any food, she assumed that with the orphanage's fancy outer appearance that she might have a little more. "Are you kidding?" Mrs. Ferrival had said, laughing at the girl.

It was in that moment that Jacqueline stood up, and said, "You shouldn't talk to her like that."

Mrs. Ferrival, in response, laughed right in Jacqueline's face. "She has enough, doesn't she?"

"You couldn't give her a little more?" Jacqueline had told the awful woman. "She's… new. And it's not right that you're being so cruel to her."

"And it's not right that you're questioning my methods!" Mrs. Ferrival had snapped, and, grabbing Jacqueline's wrist similarly to what Finn was doing now, dragged her down the hallway.

Once they'd finally stopped inside a dark room, Jacqueline unsure of what was going on, Mrs. Ferrival had slapped her across her face. "That's your own goddamn fault, girl, so shut your mouth." She had then left the room, leaving Jacqueline crying on the floor and holding a palm to her red, stinging cheek.

It was the first time Jacqueline had ever been hit by Mrs. Ferrival, and, although unbeknownst to the two of them, it wouldn't be the last.

Jacqueline wasn't shy until after leaving the orphanage. It was quite the opposite situation, actually. Mrs. Ferrival would often say terrible things to the girls. (The boys were run by a man on the far side of the building — they didn't interact much.)

But Jacqueline would stand up for herself, and the others, too. Whether the woman was insulting them or demanding them to do even more work than they already had, Jacqueline would always try to request a fairer treatment. Sometimes, other girls would follow her lead, though after being hit or left in isolation for a few hours they wouldn't speak out as much. Younger girls might do the same thing, girls as young as Lucy had been, but Jacqueline always took the blame (and the punishment) for them. She had a thing with protecting younger kids.

At some point, Mrs. Ferrival was fired and sent to prison, after the head of the boys' side of the orphanage caught her hitting Jacqueline. The girls were being moved to another orphanage, but Jacqueline was so frightened of being in the same situation as the last time, that she left. She didn't think, despite the bravery she'd shown with Mrs. Ferrival, that she could ever live in an orphanage again. Whether the new head would be kind or not, she didn't care — the memories would be too much for her to handle.

Which was why, at thirteen years old, Jacqueline had run away and moved onto the streets. It was also where she'd developed her shyness around people.

She discovered the hatred of being touched by anyone after leaving the orphanage, too, which was why she was so angry at the way Finn was holding her. It reminded her too much of her time with Mrs. Ferrival, and awful memories of the orphanage.

The moment Finn finally stopped in what appeared to be the library, Jacqueline was able to shake her hand from his grip, and did so. She jerked her arm away from him harshly, hissing, "What the hell was that for?"

Though she didn't notice at the time, it was the first instance where she really hadn't stuttered in Finn's presence. Sure, there had been a few one-worded answers that hadn't been broken apart into too many syllables, but those didn't count in Jacqueline's mind. And what was the first thing she'd said to him clearly? Oh, just to get her point across that she was mad at him.

Getting mad at Finn Herondale? What a surprise.

"I'm giving you an explanation," Finn replied, just as coldly as Jacqueline had done.

"Well, you didn't need to do that!" Jacqueline sounded strong; she wasn't taking any steps away from him — she had actually come nearer to him — and her stance suggested how unafraid she was.

And, of course, there was the fact that she hadn't stuttered at all. Yet, anyway.

"Look, at the moment, Jack, I don't give a damn."

"I swear to God, _don't_ try to do that ever again," Jacqueline said. She added in a much softer tone, "Please. I… just don't."

Something in her words must have gotten through to Finn, because he sighed and slumped into one of the armchairs in the corner of the library. "I'm just pissed, okay? I really didn't want her coming here."

"Well," Jacqueline said, "how long have you and Kristal been… broken up?"

"A month or so, I guess." Finn looked at the palm of his hands, away from her steady gaze. "As much as I didn't want Kristal coming to the Institute, I didn't even _expect _her to come back."

"Why not?" The words slipped out of Jacqueline's mouth before she could stop them, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks. Her words seemed a bit too personal, especially with this halfway friendship-enemy relationship she had going on with Finn.

"Well…" Finn trailed off. He clearly didn't want to tell her, but was trying to say it anyway. "She cheated on me, with this vampire guy. Raphael Santiago. They both freakin' laughed in my face when I saw the two of them together."

"Why would you _ever _go out with her then? She sounds awful." Jacqueline had to stop herself again. Besides having said something too personal again, it was also rude. "Crap. Sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"Nah, it's okay," he said, shaking his head and giving her a small smile. "I've been even worse to you all day. And she… She used to be the kind of girl I always wanted, you know? She was a good Shadowhunter, she was smart, she was always nice to me…"

"Until the breakup," Jacqueline murmured, frowning slightly. She couldn't imagine anyone who was nice if they laughed while they broke up with you.

"Yeah. Until then. She was pretty, too. Looked like you — same sort of hair and stuff."

_Ugh_, Jacqueline thought. _Why would I ever want to be compared to — wait, did he just call me pretty? _

_But why should I care? _

_Why does it matter to me at all?_

Her thoughts were interrupted when Finn spoke again, standing up. "Look, I've got to go… sort some things out. Thanks for listening, though. I think I needed it."

He began to walk out of the room, and Jacqueline couldn't help but noticed how defeated he looked. _Poor guy_, Jacqueline thought. _This must suck for him._

Just as Finn had left to go into the hallway and Jacqueline was standing up, he poked his head back in around the doorway.

"You know, I noticed, Jack."

"Noticed what?"

"You didn't stutter at all this time."

Leaving the words hanging between them, he flashed a quick grin and left the library.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **So now you know why Jacqueline left the orphanage. And a little more about Kristal. I have a couple of ideas for the next chapter, but I'm not sure what I'm going with yet, so I won't tell you. But please review! Did you like the flashback? Was the chapter too long/too short? I would love to hear your comments! :)


	9. Chapter Eight

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Sorry for the wait on this chapter, guys. I was really busy at school this week, and having a ton of English tests kinda drains my want for writing. Also, a few people commented that they wanted Jacqueline to stop stuttering. And I listened, so she stopped in the last chapter. :) Also, I would really suggest reading Chapter Seven before reading this one, if you didn't yet. Otherwise you won't really get it. Okay, now I'm finally done, so here's Chapter Eight! Enjoy!

Chapter Eight

After spending the rest of the afternoon in the library — Jacqueline had never had the time to read before, so she might as well savor the opportunity while it lasted — she finally went to dinner. Finn had never reappeared after he'd spoken to her about Kristal, though she assumed he had just been in his bedroom or been training. Those seemed like the two likeliest places, knowing him.

Of course, like it always was, Jacqueline found it hard to get out of the thoughts in her own head. Had he really called her pretty?

But, then again, why did it matter?

He probably said it to every girl he came across.

Or maybe he wasn't calling her pretty, and it had just slipped out because he'd been talking about Kristal.

Or…

She had to stop doing this. It _shouldn't _matter to her, because, well, so what? He'd called her pretty. Big deal. She rolled her eyes, just because of her own irrational, foolish behavior, and stood up to go to dinner. It wasn't that hard to find the dining room — luckily she'd been paying attention this morning at breakfast — and was turning down a familiar corner when a hand jerked her back.

"Don't go that way," Vanessa whispered, releasing her grasp on Jacqueline's arm.

"Ow!" Jacqueline whispered back, rubbing her wrist. "That hurt! And what are you talking about?"

"_That's_ Kristal. Now, shh, be quiet. I have to watch this."

Jacqueline decided she should watch, too, just to find out what this girl was really like. Kristal did actually look a little bit like her, though everything about her just seemed… better.

Kristal did have pale blond hair like her, but it was closer to blond than the white shade Jacqueline had. And Kristal had a curvier figure than her; although Jacqueline was of medium height, more often she described herself as "willowy." Kind of tall and skinny (but that was mostly because of a lack of food after leaving the orphanage), but having more of a narrow frame. Kristal, however, could be a model, just by her height alone.

Chris and Isaac were standing near the doorway to the dining room, both of them carrying tiny seraph blades. They obviously had been practicing with them only moments ago, since their hair was slightly disheveled and their clothes were rumpled. Kristal was standing ahead of them, a hand placed loosely on her perfectly-proportioned hips.

"Will you _please _just let me through?" Kristal demanded, a complaining note to her voice.

"Not after what you did to Finn," Isaac said boldly. Chris seemed to be a little more nervous, and he stood off to the side of Isaac.

"God, get a grip, seriously," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "It's not a big deal, okay?"

"It sorta is…" Chris whispered, looking up to her with wide, brown eyes. "I mean, you were _really _mean to him."

"And Raphael Santiago?" Isaac took up right where his brother had left off, making it clear how close of brothers they were. "I mean, _anyone _can do better than that guy."

"This is none of your business," Kristal snapped. "Now let me through."

Jacqueline immediately stepped forward and into the view of everyone in the hallway. Like she had with Lucy, she had a habit of protecting younger kids. It had been awhile since that side of her had come out, but it was, obviously, still there.

"Hey, guys!" she said brightly, in a voice that most definitely didn't sound like hers, as she walked up to the three of them.

"Uh… hi, Jacqueline," Chris said warily, clearly aware of the fact that this was _not _the Jacqueline D'Angelo they'd seen the night before.

"It's great to see you guys again," she replied, giving a smile. "Anyways, should we go inside for dinner?" Jacqueline then turned to face Kristal, as if she hadn't seen her before, although in reality she had. "Oh, I'm sorry — I'm Jacqueline, what's your name?"

"I'm Kristal." Her voice had quickly taken on a sweet, innocent tone, and she flashed a smile that probably was as real as Jacqueline's had been earlier. Subtly, Kristal looked Jacqueline up and down, though Jacqueline suspected it was only because she'd seen Kristal's earlier side that she'd noticed it at all. She felt slightly self-conscious — was her hair a mess, did she look stupid not wearing makeup, and the like.

But she knew someone like the girl standing ahead of her shouldn't matter at all. Like Chris had said, it was a big deal for her to have broken up with Finn in the way she had done. _Yes_, Kristal might have made a mistake or something, but Jacqueline knew automatically that every time she looked at Kristal, she would only be remembering the way she had treated Finn.

"Well, it's awesome to meet you," Jacqueline said. She was happy that, at least for now, Kristal seemed to have been distracted from the scene with the twins, for that had been her plan all along. She probably didn't have to protect the boys — at least not Isaac, anyway, though Chris was another story — but it didn't matter now: they had already gone inside the dining room.

Suddenly, Vanessa and Finn came walking up. Vanessa was in the process of telling him something, and clearly Finn didn't agree with it, because he looked agitated.

"Look, I really don't want to—" she could hear Finn saying.

"I don't care, deal with it," Vanessa responded. "You're getting ov—" She stopped short, realizing how loudly she'd been talking and how near they were to Kristal.

"Finn!" Kristal stepped away from Jacqueline, apparently having forgotten about her already, and gave Finn a hug. Her arms wrapped around his neck as if she'd been doing it for all her life. (On second thought, though, she probably had.)

Jacqueline felt a quick pain in her stomach, as if it hurt to watch Kristal hug Finn. She blamed it for the fact that she hadn't eaten a meal since breakfast, but it sort of reminded her of the effect Finn had given her when he'd called her pretty…

Finn, however, just stood there, straight as a board and obviously confused by what was going on. Personally, Jacqueline was too, but it wasn't really in her place to say it.

"Hi, Kristal," he said seriously, his voice tight and constrained. He didn't sound angry. It was quite the opposite, actually — he sounded sad. Wistful, even, as if he were longing for her but couldn't get her back.

"Should we go inside?" Kristal asked flirtatiously, pulling on Finn's arm towards the door.

Finn, however, didn't follow her movements. "Um, no."

"No?" Kristal arched her eyebrows, her voice becoming a little less innocent and little ruder.

"No," Finn repeated, sounding more strongly this time. "I… have to talk to Jacqueline."

Kristal's eyes flickered back towards Jacqueline's in annoyance, but she brushed it away. "I'll see you in there, 'kay?" And without another word, she walked gracefully and purposefully into the dining room.

Jacqueline, Vanessa, and Finn just looked at each other for a moment, standing in the silence. His green eyes were pained, as if seeing Kristal here was the worst that could've happened to him. In a way, it probably was, and Jacqueline couldn't help but wonder just _why _Vanessa was pushing him to go get over Kristal. It was really hard for him, that much she could tell, and it was better — at least in Jacqueline's mind — to let him heal for as long as it took.

"Now you understand why I hate her so much," Vanessa said bluntly, looking at Jacqueline. "God, she's just _such_ a… Never mind. But you get it now, don't you?"

Jacqueline nodded. "I don't like her either," she murmured. "Especially the way she was talking to the twins."

"Or the way she hugged Finn," Vanessa continued, rolling her eyes. "What the hell was up with that, anyway?"

"Can we _please_," Finn interrupted, "not talk about me like I'm not here? I'm the one she freaking cheated on." Though he'd sounded tough and "Finn-like" at the beginning, his voice had gotten that sad quality again that Jacqueline always noticed.

"Sorry," Jacqueline and Vanessa said in unison.

"Guys," Clary, opening the dining room door, whispered. She peered her head around the doorframe to see the three teenagers standing off to the side. "Will you _please_ get in here so I don't have to deal with Kristal by myself?"

They looked at each other, nodded begrudgingly, and went inside.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **So now you've met Kristal… Thoughts on her? Thoughts on the hug with Finn? Basically, anything you liked/disliked, just tell me in a review! I'd to hear it!


	10. Chapter Nine

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Sorry about the wait on this chapter! I didn't feel good this week, but it's about 1600 words, so I'm super happy about that, and I hope you are too. Enjoy! :)

Chapter Nine

Jacqueline walked in to find that there were only three open seats at the table: two near the twins on one end, and one next to Kristal.

Although Jacqueline wanted to sit with the twins, she felt that to leave Finn there with just Kristal would be callous and cruel. And Kristal obviously wanted to spend time with Finn, so why not just take the seat next to her? It would definitely annoy her, that's for sure.

So Jacqueline casually took a seat next to Kristal, hoping that her efforts to ruin her plan wouldn't be noticed. "Hey," she said quietly, smiling a little.

"Why aren't you sitting next to Finn?" Kristal's voice sounded innocent and pure again, and there was no hint that she was anything but curious, though Jacqueline imagined there was a double meaning behind her words. "Aren't you two going out? I mean, I don't mind, but…."

"No!" Jacqueline said, a little more quickly than she normally would have. In the back of her mind she wondered why, but quickly recovered. "He's a cool guy and all, but I… I mean only met him a few days ago, you know?"

Going out with Finn? That was such a bad—

Actually, on second thought, that didn't sound too bad at all….

No, what was she _thinking_? She'd never gone out with a boy in her life, much less someone as, well, someone as hot as Finn. She wouldn't know what to do, what to say… It would be a mess. And she didn't like Finn like _that_ — they were barely even friends. All they had done was train. Of course, he'd given her that weird apology last night… And he'd told her what had happened between him and Kristal… That certainly counted for something.

At least, she thought it did.

"Okay," Kristal responded, just as casually as she'd done before.

Though Jacqueline hadn't noticed it, there was a slightly devious smirk playing across Kristal's face as she spoke.

—•—

Dinner conversation was the same as it had been the previous night. Clary directed most of the discussions away from Kristal — as did everyone else, so it seemed — but Kristal, however, seemed to have other plans. She kept trying to jump into any sort of chat with Finn, which bothered Jacqueline a little bit more than she thought it should've. _It's just because I don't want him to get hurt again by such an awful girl like Kristal…_ she told herself.

_But why,_ she wondered, _did she not want him getting hurt?_

"So how was training today, Finn?" Jace asked from his position next to Clary.

"It was pretty good, I guess." Finn looked across the table at Jacqueline, giving her a reassuring smile. "Jacqueline's not that bad, although she'd never compare to me."

He was teasing, of course; she could tell by the faint grin he had. On an impulse, Jacqueline shot back, "At least _I _hit the target closer to the center than _you _did."

The whole table laughed, except for Kristal, obviously, and Jacqueline raised her eyebrows at Finn. "Very funny, Jack," he said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

Kristal interrupted the laughter, however, when she said in her sickeningly sweet voice, "You're training Jacqueline, Finn?"

"What? Oh, um, yeah…."

"And you call her Jack?" She turned to look at her, and Jacqueline felt her stomach clench, as if she'd done something wrong. "You know he used to call me Kris?"

"That's… great," Jacqueline said hesitantly after an uncomfortable pause. Looking across the table at Finn, she watched his expression. He had that sad, wistful look again — _he really needs to get rid of that_¸ Jacqueline thought — but also looked a little angry. Finally.

Lizzie, however, jumped in with a bright smile that only a four-year-old could have, and exclaimed, "But you really did better than Finn, Jacqueline?"

She nodded. Lizzie was almost ecstatic at the thought of this, and continued by saying, "But he's the best Shadowhunter _ever_!"

"Hmmm..." Jacqueline pretended to consider it, tapping a finger against her chin thoughtfully. "I don't know, Lizzie."

"Alright, alright," Jace said. "We _all _know the honor of best Shadowhunter goes to me."

He smiled, just like Finn did, Jacqueline noticed. They both had that sort of carefree, contagious grin that Jacqueline doubted she would ever have — she was always much too wrapped up in her own thoughts to ever be "carefree."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Clary teased, smiling as she rocked Eddy in her arms and smoothed his fair-colored hair away from his forehead. "'I'm the best Shadowhunter ever' blah, blah, blah."

"You know it's true." Jace leaned in towards her, kissing her on the cheek lightly.

"Uh-huh," Clary said, rolling her eyes, though she smiled as he kissed her. "Oh, Jacqueline? Before I forget, is that your guitar in your bedroom?"

"Oh, yes," Jacqueline said hurriedly. "Is it in the way? Do you want me t—"

"No, no, I was just wondering. We always have a ton of stuff in the Institute that I didn't even know we had." Clary laughed. "It's fine."

"You play guitar?" Jacqueline inwardly cringed as she heard Kristal's high-pitched, lilting, faux-sweet voice in the air.

"Yeah," Jacqueline sighed sadly. She had kind of planned on keeping that side of her quiet. It would've led to too many unwanted questions, which might bring up the orphanage, the place she'd been trying to forget. "I sing, too."

"Well, why don't you play us something?" Kristal asked, her voice full of authority and command.

"Nah, I'm sure you all don't want—"

"Oh, c'mon," Kristal said. "It'll be fun, and I'm sure we'd all _love _to hear you play."

"Jacqueline, you don't have to," Clary said, shaking her head. She knew what Kristal was trying to do as well as Jacqueline did.

"Actually, you know what?" Jacqueline smirked, having an idea. "I'll play. Sound good, Kristal?"

"Amazing." Kristal smiled back, and the two girls locked gazes intensely for a moment before Jacqueline went to go get her guitar.

—•—

Five minutes later, Jacqueline returned to the dining room. Sure, she'd been a little nervous — it wasn't like she was playing in the subway stations like she normally did — but she knew she couldn't back down now. The song idea was absolutely perfect, and it would, hopefully, embarrass Kristal, at least a little bit. And if it didn't… Well, it showed Jacqueline wasn't afraid of her.

"Alright, you guys might know this song," Jacqueline said quietly, standing in the front of the dining room, "but I'm going to play it a little differently, okay?"

"What's the song called?" Isaac and Christ shouted up to her at the same time.

Looking directly at Kristal, Jacqueline said, smiling, "'How to Be a Heartbreaker' by Marina and the Diamonds."

Jacqueline strummed the strings on her beaten-up guitar, losing herself in the song. _Rule number one_, she sang, _is that you've gotta have fun. But baby, when you're done, you've gotta be the first to run._

_Rule number two, just don't get attached to, somebody you could lose. So let me tell you. _

_This is how to be a heartbreaker. Boys they like a little danger. We'll get him falling for a stranger, a player, singing I l-l-love you. _

Jacqueline knew, just by the look on Kristal's face, that she'd achieved her goal. She'd wanted Kristal to know that she saw right through her, that she knew that although she looked pure, all she was a "heartbreaker" and someone that Jacqueline didn't really like.

At all.

When she had finished the song, she looked back into the eyes of the crowd. Vanessa, sitting off to the side of Kristal, kept pointing at Kristal's horrified expression discreetly, making Lizzie giggle. They'd both clearly enjoyed the song. Chris and Isaac looked triumphant, as if they were thankful someone had finally had the nerve to really stand up to Kristal. Jace and Clary looked as if they were suppressing a laugh.

And Finn….

Well, she couldn't really read his expression, but he was the first to clap, and the rest of the dining room followed suit, even Kristal.

"Did you like it, Kristal?" Jacqueline asked innocently.

"You're very good," she replied casually, though the blush on her cheeks gave away how surprised she was. "Where did you learn to sing like that?"

Jacqueline just shrugged. _Those_ were the sort of unwanted questions she hated.

After helping clean up the dinner plates — Kristal not having bothered to stick around, there's a surprise — Jacqueline and Finn walked through the hallway, back to her room.

"You probably just made my day, Jack," he said, walking beside her.

"You liked it, huh?"

"Yeah, you're, uh, you're pretty good." He rubbed his hand behind his neck awkwardly, but quickly broke the tension as he said, "The expression on her face… That was hilarious."

"That's what I was going for, actually." Jacqueline smiled, remembering the way Kristal's cheeks had turned red as she had sung the song.

"You know, we _might _actually be friends now," he said, his voice picking up the teasing note that she recognized easily now.

Jacqueline stopped as they reached the corner where they turned to go off to their bedrooms. "Oh, _are _we?"

"You should be honored, Jack." He grinned at her again, and Jacqueline wondered how many times she'd seen him smile today.

And, although she didn't want to admit it, she was secretly happy that he thought they were friends, though she didn't really know why. "Have a good night, Finn!" she called, turning down the corner.

There were two things Jacqueline hadn't noticed. One was that Finn had paused, just for a moment, watching her as she went to her room.

And the second? Kristal had heard their entire conversation.

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own the song "How to Be a Heartbreaker". All credit goes to Marina and the Diamonds.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Um, yeah, I was kinda lazy this week, as I was sick, so sorry if this chapter was all over the place or if you find grammatical errors. And please review! Thanks! :)


	11. Chapter Ten

**DISCLAIMER:** See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Alright, well, there's more Kristal/Finn/Jacqueline drama here. This was actually probably my favorite chapter to write. But I won't tell you any more; I don't want to spoil it for you. Enjoy!

Chapter Ten

Jacqueline woke up the next morning with a guilty feeling inside of her chest. Wasn't it mean, to have embarrassed Kristal like that by singing that song? Sure, it had been one of her favorite songs when she was younger — Marina and the Diamonds had always been one of her favored bands — but it made her feel sick to her stomach to have sung the song in the sort of way she had done, with such cruel intentions.

She tried reminding herself, as she was lying on her bed and staring at the ceiling, that it really hadn't been that bad, considering what Kristal had done to Finn. _"They both freaking laughed in my face when I saw them together," _she remembered Finn telling her. God, it was one thing to cheat on someone like Finn, someone who had honestly loved you and cared for you wholly, but it was another to just… laugh. To make him feel that everything had been a lie, to make fun of the emotions he'd had.

_That _had been cruel.

But had Jacqueline's song been any better? She didn't want to be spiteful and malicious towards someone, because it had happened to her too many times over the years at the orphanage. Images of Mrs. Ferrival crept up into her mind, but she pushed them away quickly. _You don't want to be like Kristal and Mrs. Ferrival, _she told herself sternly, biting her lower lip as she thought. _But I don't want to be nice to someone that doesn't deserve it._

Getting up begrudgingly, Jacqueline looked at herself in the mahogany, framed mirror that hung on the wall beside her bedside table. She picked up a brush, one Vanessa had lent her (along with far too many other makeup products that Jacqueline insisted she'd never use), running it through her white blond hair to get rid of that tangled look that seemed as to always appear on her. Although she wished she didn't look at all like Kristal — being compared to someone like her was something Jacqueline hated — she wanted to look like her at the same time. Kristal was beautiful and looked like a model, making it easy to see why Finn had fallen for her. She didn't _want _Finn falling for her, of course, but she still wished she had the put-together, charming appearance that Kristal frequented.

Jacqueline rolled her eyes at her thoughts. It was stupid for her to feel self-conscious of her looks like this. Maybe it was because she hadn't really been around guys at all before coming to the Institute that she felt this way, or perhaps it was because she'd finally gotten over her anxiety around the people here, so those nervous thoughts had been replaced with ones like these. But, for the first time in a _long _time, she wanted to look good.

She wanted to look better than Kristal, actually.

On impulse, she looked over at the pile of makeup from Vanessa — there were a few assorted brushes for blush, tubes of eyeliner and mascara, lip gloss and eye shadow in far too many colors to name, and other sorts of beauty products that Jacqueline didn't even recognize.

_Maybe it _would _be a good idea to use some of this, _Jacqueline wondered. _Or I could look like an idiot. _

Hesitatingly, she picked up the mascara.

—•—

After giving too many last-minute checks in the mirror and brushing her hair for probably the fifth time, Jacqueline finally headed downstairs to the training room, wearing the traditional Shadowhunter gear. It wasn't really a good idea to have makeup on while she was exercising, but she'd been careful to use waterproof mascara, and, at that, only a tiny bit.

But she had to admit that it did make a small difference. She looked better than she had in a long time.

Still, she wanted to apologize to Kristal. It hadn't been right to do what she'd done last night, and Jacqueline knew she'd rather be the bigger person and apologize for her song. She didn't have time now, of course, since she had training again, but Jacqueline was going to force herself to look for her afterwards, as much as she didn't want to.

As it turned out, both Kristal _and _Finn were in training room — Jacqueline could tell by the sound of their voices — and Jacqueline sighed quietly. _Not now, I don't want to see her _now.

Thinking back on it later, Jacqueline would've thought that she shouldn't have eavesdropped and listened to their conversation. She'd come to apologize and make her wrongs right, but now… Well, now she was basically doing another "wrong."

The door to the training room was opened, and Jacqueline stood against the wall so they wouldn't see her, but she could still see them out of the corner of her eye. Kristal and Finn were both fighting with daggers, the edges dulled so as not to hurt each other as badly, and both were doing a sort of dangerous-looking dance as they practiced.

"Can I ask why you're here, Kristal?" Finn asked, shifting his body towards the farther corner of the room, and then swung with the knife.

"Parents kicked me out." Kristal shrugged, easily sidestepping with a graceful movement of her right foot. She was clearly more on the defensive side of their practice fight, but it was clear — at least to Jacqueline, that is — that she was a good Shadowhunter. Really good, actually.

"Really?" Finn asked, raising his eyebrows, though his tone suggested that it had happened multiple times. "Again?"

"Yeah, they don't like Raphael. So I figured I'd come back here, considering I needed, you know, a place to live."

Jacqueline rolled her eyes. _Yeah_, she thought. _You should just come back to the place where your ex-boyfriend lives, whom you cheated on in the most inhumane way possible, and screw up his life again. Very classy._

"I'd rather not talk about your new boyfriend, if you don't mind," Finn said stiffly, faking a movement with his knife to the right and aiming for the left.

But with an elegant flick of her wrist, Kristal blocked the knife's movement. "Oh, I don't think he'll be my boyfriend for much longer..." she murmured, though Finn was too focused on the movement of the knives that he hadn't heard her.

"So are you going out with that girl?" she asked, her voice casually curious again.

"Who, Jacqueline?" Finn paused, both in words and movement, and ran a hand through his hair. "No, we're, uh, just friends."

"Oh, sure," Kristal said, laughing. "You _like _her, don't you?"

Jacqueline blushed deeply from her position in the hallway. She hadn't liked being talked about ever (who did?), but it was just weird to hear her name in the conversation between the two of them. But why would Kristal care? When a horrifying realization came upon her, though, she grimaced.

If that girl got back together with Finn… Well, Jacqueline would make sure it wouldn't be happening. Not because she wanted to go out with him — at least, that's what she kept telling herself — but because she didn't want to see him hurt again.

No. That was _not _happening. Not at all.

"Look, it doesn't really matter, alright?" Finn said hurriedly, and quickly jabbed towards Kristal's arm, picking up the rhythmic motion of the fight again. This time, Jacqueline noticed with pleasure, the knife had left a long, red scratch across Kristal's forearm, but she hadn't seemed to have noticed. Damn.

"Sure it doesn't." Kristal smiled, and continuing moving farther towards the wall of the training room. Finn followed her, and they continued making movements with their knives; each time the blades clashed against each other, both of them clearly trying to outdo their opponent.

After a moment of silence, Kristal's back brushed up against the wall, and Finn once again followed her. He didn't seem to have any sort of idea of what Kristal was trying to do, though Jacqueline knew instantly.

As she'd predicted, Kristal couldn't back up anymore once she was against the wall, but Finn was oblivious and kept coming closer and closer to her. They were only a few feet apart, and Jacqueline bit her lip. Finn was going to get sucked into a relationship with that girl again, she could just feel it. When they were only a few centimeters apart, their knives striking furiously against each other, Finn finally noticed what was going on.

His cheeks turned slightly pink, as if he were embarrassed by the proximity between them, but his eyes were filled with such a painful longing for the girl standing in front of him that Jacqueline wondered how they hadn't kissed yet.

Kristal smirked. It was completely obvious to Jacqueline what Kristal had been doing. She was going to try and flirt with him again, even if she did already have a boyfriend. (It wasn't as if it were a first-time thing for her — she'd already done it with Raphael when she was still with Finn.)

Jacqueline wished there was some way she could jump in and tell Finn that this was an awful idea, because Kristal had some sort of stupid plan that he should just stay out of.

Of course, she _could _just interrupt their moment. She had the perfect excuse — she had training, didn't she? Again, that wouldn't be _the _nicest thing to do, after what had happened last night, but she told herself that she was going to do it to help Finn. So he wouldn't be hurt again.

And in the deepest part of her heart, she might be the tiniest bit jealous, but she wouldn't admit that to herself at all. That wasn't the point, and she was probably just imagining it anyway.

Wasn't she?

Finn and Kristal were looking at each other, and she watched as Kristal closed her eyes, preparing herself to kiss him. She stood up on her tiptoes, ever so slightly, to brush her lips against his own. Finn looked almost startled, but he didn't really look upset either.

_Well, here's goes nothing, _Jacqueline thought, and took a few steps inside the training room. She looked downward as they turned to face her, so the happiness in her eyes wouldn't betray that she was spoiling this moment for them.

Jacqueline, sounding an awfully lot like the Jacqueline she'd been when she'd first at the Institute, asked quietly, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

Not.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Take that, Kristal! Alright, sorry, just had to add that. Please review? I only got two on the last chapter. It will only take a second. Tell me if you liked Jacqueline's self-conscious bit at the beginning, or if you hate Kristal, or Jacqueline's minor jealousy, or if you have anything else you want me to add in the coming chapters. (I'll take them into consideration, I promise.)

I have the ending planned out, too. It's going to make you cry. At least, I hope it does – it makes me cry when I think about it.

Anyways, please, please, please review! Thanks!


	12. Chapter Eleven

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I know a ton of reviewers have been asking for more Finn/Jacqueline drama and want them to get together. Not giving any spoilers, but, in all actuality, they've only known each other for like three days. I'm just trying to keep it realistic… or, as realistic as it could be in a TMI fanfic. :) This does have a ton of drama , though, that will definitely relate to the rest of the story, and, specifically, the end.

Also, doing this chapter from Finn's POV. It's just something I wanted to try, but enjoy!

Chapter Eleven

Finn, with the sound of Jacqueline coming inside the training room, immediately took another step away from Kristal. What had he been _thinking_? Kissing Kristal was so unbelievably idiotic — though he'd done some pretty stupid things over the years — and it made him angry that he could so easily let her back into his life. She'd screwed him over the last time, and he wasn't going to let it happen again.

Or would he?

Watching Kristal, with her sweet tone and standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him (or, well, almost kiss him), made him want her back more than ever. And hearing that she'd been kicked out of her house for what seemed like the thousandth time made him pity her.

But he shouldn't pity her. Finn knew that Kristal was a lying, cheating, stereotypical teenage girl. There were girls far more interesting… Like, well, Jacqueline for instance.

He remembered seeing her when his mom had first brought her inside the Institute. She'd been passed out, and there were a few gashes — though they were more like scrapes and bruises — running across her arms and legs. Finn thought, however, that Jacqueline had been dead, from her pale, cold-looking body. His mother, seeing his expression, had quickly shaken her head and brushed away any thoughts he might have had regarding it.

Later, he'd learned that Jacqueline just generally didn't have much color in her face, which was a much better thought than his original one of her being dead. From her hair that was so close to white to her ice-blue eyes, Finn had a fleeting image of an angel, dressed all in white, as he saw her that first day, when she'd been looking for the dining room and had instead stumbled upon him in the training room.

Of course, Jacqueline had also looked like Kristal, the girl of which he'd thought was synonymous with the devil, so the two thoughts had complete opposites of each other.

But Jacqueline was a good friend. She didn't use the words "like" or "totally" in a sentence, or, by the Angel, ever use the two of them together. And, although being probably the shyest person he'd ever met, Jacqueline had grown up over the past few days, what with that song she'd sung last night and the fact that she'd just eavesdropped on his and Kristal's entire conversation.

Yeah, he'd seen her in the hallway. Why she hadn't just come in right when she had originally arrived, Finn had no idea — it probably would have saved him all the trouble he was having now, what with almost kissing Kristal and all.

Speaking of which….

"I'll see you around, okay, Finn?" Kristal smiled, pulling him out of his thoughts and kissed his cheek gently. Finn imagined his face had turned a pale shade of pink, and for a moment, he wondered what Jacqueline would think.

But it didn't matter, did it?

Kristal, however, just left the room, her blond hair flowing from behind her. Even after a training lesson, she managed to look perfectly put-together — something she'd always been able to do, ever since Finn had met her.

"Darn," Jacqueline muttered once Kristal had left, running her hand through her hair. "I was supposed to go apologize to her."

"What did you do?" Finn asked, looking over at her more closely than he had before. There was something… different about her today. He couldn't place it, but there was something most assuredly different that hadn't been there yesterday.

"The song from last night, remember?" Jacqueline sighed. "It was mean, and I'd much prefer to _not _have people hate me, if it's possible."

"But where's the fun in that?" Finn grinned, spreading his hands out for a moment and shrugging. He looked at her again, trying once more to figure out why she looked so unlike the way she looked yesterday.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asked warily, brushing a hand over her hair, as if to see if it was out of place.

"You just look… weird."

"Thanks. I appreciate the compliment," Jacqueline said sarcastically, though from her teasing smile Finn could tell she was amused. "But there _is _a thing called mascara, you know."

"Well, it, ah, looks good on you," Finn said, and then quickly wondered how he'd let it slip out. She did look good, he wasn't lying, but he wasn't sure if girls liked that kind of stuff. Kristal had, of course, but Kristal wasn't like other girls, really.

Apparently Jacqueline had liked it though, because he watched as the contagious smile on her face broadened. "Um, thanks, Finn. Should we, uh, get started?"

Finn walked near the wall that had weapons hanging from metal hooks and nails. "Well, what do you want to do, Jack?"

She twirled a piece of white hair around her finger. "Maybe we could try what you and Kristal were doing?"

"What, with the knives?" Finn asked, picking off a few from the far end of the wall, and handing one to her. "You remember how to hold it, right?"

She nodded, and, thankfully, held it up the correct way. Finn, although he liked her, didn't really feel like re-teaching how to hold a weapon, especially when it came so easily to him. "Ready for a one-on-one?" he asked after a moment's pause.

"Yup," she said, and Finn saw the determination in her eyes increase as she began to quickly make a swipe with the edge of her knife. Unlike Kristal, Jacqueline was clearly trying to win, instead of just having a conversation with him, so the two of them stayed silent, except for the sounds of metal against metal radiating around the room.

Finn was trying and putting effort into their fight — he always wanted to win, no matter what, even if he _was_ only training her.

But she was good, better than him and probably better than Kristal, the best Shadowhunter he knew. Yeah, although he joked about being the best Shadowhunter (and Lizzie thought he was serious) he wasn't. He had skill, from all of the training he'd done over the years, but there wasn't any natural talent, like everyone else in his family seemed to have.

Quickly, he jabbed his knife forward again, only to have it blocked, Finn only seeing a quick flash of metallic silver.

Jacqueline smiled. "Take that!" she exclaimed, showing more energy that Finn had ever seen her have.

He didn't respond, except for a faint grin of his own, and feinted with the knife towards her right. Jacqueline had already been going the other way, and, although he hadn't meant to hurt her, Finn had scraped down the inside of her forearm, a long, jagged cut that was already bleeding.

"Are you alright?" Finn asked concernedly, dropping his knife and moving closer to her.

"Um, not really," she murmured, her face turning even paler than it usually was. "Finn, I-I pass out when I see blood."

"Don't look at it, okay?" Finn, reaching for his stele, held her wrist. She tensed up, and he remembered, when he'd been dragging her to the library yesterday, the expression on her face when he'd been holding her. Clearly, she didn't like it — and he wasn't about to ask. "I have to take your arm, so I can _iratze _it. It'll only take a second, I promise," he said.

Knowing exactly what Finn was talking about, Jacqueline looked away. He saw the way she had her eyes closed, the way her chest was rising and falling as she focused on breathing slowly, in and out, in and out.

Taking his stele, he drew the familiar Rune on the inside of Jacqueline's arm. "It's going to sting for a second, Jack, but only a second."

But, expecting to see the normal black shape of the _iratze_, it was instead a glowing gold. The Rune was moving, too, only slightly, but it was still there. Finn almost dropped his stele. He didn't understand; this had never happened before, at least not that he knew of. I mean, the Silent Brothers knew she was a Shadowhunter, so at least he knew Jacqueline wasn't going to be part of the Forsaken — but why was the Mark gold? It didn't make any sense.

"I thought you said it was going to s—," Jacqueline broke off as she was turning back to Finn. Seeing his expression, she looked down too. Her eyes widened. "Is that supposed to happen?"

"I… I don't know." Finn watched as the Rune suddenly stopped moving, and disappeared.

"Finn, did I do something, or…?" Her voice, despite its softness and outer calmness, had a hint of nervousness in it, and Finn could tell Jacqueline was trying not to panic.

"I'll just try again," Finn said hurriedly. Hastily, he drew the Rune, but it turned gold, and following the procedure from before, disappeared, the cut remaining.

"I have to stop this blood," Finn said, more to himself than to Jacqueline. He looked around the room, but there weren't any bandages near him. There might have been a few on the other side, but he didn't want to leave Jacqueline alone for too long.

Finn, of course, did the one thing he didn't want to do — he panicked. He should have called for Ness or his dad or even Lizzie to go find something to stop the blood flowing from her cut. But he didn't, and, quickly, took off the white t-shirt he was wearing.

At the moment, he was too preoccupied to notice the way Jacqueline had stared at him for a good five seconds and had then dropped her gaze to her wrist, a blush denying her emotions. He put the t-shirt over the cut, and let the blood soak into it. The shirt was ruined, but he didn't care.

He just wanted to Jacqueline to be okay.

"Better?" he asked, concern and nerves filling up his voice.

"I hope so," Jacqueline said softly. "But thank you, Finn."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Golden Runes, no annoying Kristal, and Finn taking his shirt off… Well, that sounds like a pretty good chapter to me :) If you did like it, review and tell me why! And if you didn't, tell me that, too!

Thanks for all the reviews on Chapter Ten! Have a good week!


	13. Chapter Twelve

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I'm going to start replying to reviews, just so you know.

**Booklover1598****: **You're my favorite reviewer, no joke. You write the nicest things whenever you review, and it always makes me happy to know that you're reading my latest chapters. You've always been there from the start, and I'm super glad you like my fanfic. So thanks. 3

**Beth: ** Yay, new reviewer! I like your name, by the way — it's so pretty! Sorry for my randomness, I'll actually write my response to your review now: I'm glad you like it, and I will try to update as soon as I can! It's usually about once a week (on Saturday mornings) but I actually updated on a Wednesday this week, which is weird for me.

**Kawaii-Kaiya-chan****: **Love that song, too! (Which is basically why I picked it… So that's kind of self-explanatory, which is why I don't even know why I said it in the first place… Oh well.) I'm really glad you think it's cute, and I hope this chapter will be too!

**1700 words in this chapter! (not including reviews) I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and have a great rest of the week!**

Chapter Twelve

"The Runes were _gold_?" Clary asked, raising her eyebrows.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Mom," Finn said, sighing. It was clear, to Jacqueline, anyway, that Finn didn't like having to repeat himself, especially about something he didn't understand either. "I drew the _iratze_, same as always, and instead of being black, it was gold instead."

Jacqueline, Finn, and Clary were all sitting in Clary's art studio on the third floor of the Institute. Jace, Finn had told her, had built it for her as an anniversary present for the first year they had been married, and it was filled to the brim with pencils and charcoal, pastels and paints, easels and sketchpads. Those were the only things Jacqueline could recognize, though she saw other types of artistic equipment that she could never possibly know the name of.

Clary was sitting on a wooden stool, facing the window. She was lost in thought, clearly wondering what was going on with Jacqueline and the Runes.

Finn was standing beside Jacqueline, their arms almost touching, and he stayed close to her. He'd, thankfully, put on a shirt before coming to his mother for advice, but she had to admit that he had sort of looked… Well, Jacqueline thought he'd looked hot without his shirt on.

He had the whole green eyes, blond hair, All-American boy vibe radiating from him, and, when you put that together with his muscular body — a likely result of all the years he'd spent training — he was _really _attractive. She'd been insanely embarrassed, of course, considering she'd been legitimately staring at him earlier, but he hadn't seemed to have noticed.

That was the weird thing, though — he _hadn't_ noticed. Sure, it was nice of him to want to take care of her — really nice, actually — but why had he done it? There had been a protectiveness in the way he held her arm, as if he were afraid she'd break, in the way his green eyes held such concern in them, and in the kind way he'd spoken to her, to keep her from passing out and to keep her calm.

Jacqueline liked being taken care of, which was something she hadn't really experienced… ever. Even in that awful, terrible orphanage, she had always been the one to take punishments, both physical and verbal, for the other girls. She would step in front of Mrs. Ferrival's lightning-quick slaps, without even thinking for herself, so as not to let Lucy (or some other girl that was just like her) get hurt.

"Jacqueline?" Clary stood up from the stool, pushing a stray piece of red hair behind her ear. "Do you mind if I take a look at your arm?"

Jacqueline was about to respond with a hesitant "sure," but Finn jumped in, taking a step in front of her before she could say anything. "No, Mom, she, uh, doesn't like when people do that," he said. Finn shot his mother a glance so stern, trying to convey the message that Jacqueline didn't like being touched by anyone else — and he didn't even know the reason why.

That, Jacqueline thought, was what touched her the most.

Clary's eyes, so similar to Finn's, widened. "Oh, sure, that's fine—"

Jacqueline interrupted Clary by saying, "No, don't worry, I'll be okay. But, um—" she looked over at Finn, glancing for just a second too long into his eyes, "—thanks for saying that."

He just shrugged nonchalantly in response, moving a piece of blond hair away from his eyes, though Jacqueline thought she saw the faintest hint of a blush on his fair cheeks. She told herself she had just imagined it, but she knew she was lying to herself.

"Here," Jacqueline said tentatively, holding her arm out to Clary. She knew Clary wouldn't hurt her, which was why she'd agreed in the first place, but she was still a little nervous. "I had, to, um, borrow Finn's t-shirt to stop the bleeding initially, but I think it might be better now." She carefully removed the blood-stained shirt from the inside of her arm, holding it near her side.

"So you just used the _iratze _on it," Clary asked, "and it turned gold?"

"It started moving, too," Finn added, looking down at the still-remaining cut. "And then the Rune just… disappeared, and the cut _stayed_. I've never seen anything like it."

"Me either," Clary murmured, gently holding Jacqueline's arm. "I've never heard of something like it either, not even from the _Codex_."

Jacqueline stayed silent, watching Finn and Clary talk back and forth, both using too many Shadowhunter names and terms she didn't understand. She didn't like this, this abnormal feeling she had. Even in the Shadowhunter world, where _everyone _was different in general, she was still an abnormality. Sure, it would be nice, pleasant, even, to be called "special" or "unique", but Jacqueline just felt like she was an oddity everywhere she went. From her strange, unnatural looks and the way she was disobedient in the orphanage to the time she spent on the streets and, now, the whole event with the golden Runes, Jacqueline just wanted to fit in _somewhere. _And, at first, she thought it might have been the Institute, but now, so it seemed, that wasn't the case. She was still the one who stood out the most, wherever she went — and sometimes she thought that was a bad thing.

Well, maybe that wasn't _always _true. Kristal stood out here, too, though for much different reasons than Jacqueline. Nobody seemed to like Kristal here, not even little Lizzie. But she thought she had friends here, at least in Finn and Vanessa and Lizzie.

That was good enough, at least for now.

—•—

All in all, nothing really had happened with the Runes on Jacqueline's arm. It had been a topic of discussion at lunch (of which Kristal hadn't attended, so her idea of an apology was completely thrown out the window), but it had consisted of Jace and Clary mostly just talking quietly with each other, as if they hadn't wanted the rest of the Institute to hear them. Jacqueline had just played with her food, unable to really eat anything because of how nauseated she was feeling. It wasn't as if she was sick, or anything; she hadn't been able to shake this "I wonder if I'll ever fit in…" feeling she'd had all day.

It was stupid, Jacqueline knew, but the real problem was that she'd been alone too much. After eating, she had rushed off to her room to be alone. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts, or, in all actuality, that one particular thought specifically, and without someone to pull her out of them, she'd never stop thinking of it.

Glancing down at her wrist for what felt like the thousandth time, staring at the long, red gash running across it, Jacqueline sighed. She just wished the stupid Rune had _worked. Iratzes _worked for every other Shadowhunter.

Except for her.

There were two quick knocks on her bedroom door, but, before Jacqueline could reply, Vanessa was striding through the door. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and Jacqueline was reminded of the picture of Isabelle Lightwood she'd seen in the hallway earlier that afternoon. They were both intimidating-looking, but had a sort of carefree beauty about them that Jacqueline thought was better than any sort of fake, shallow prettiness.

"Hey, Jacqueline!" Vanessa said. "Were you using that makeup I lent you today?"

"I tried," Jacqueline responded, laughing a little. "Not really sure how well it worked, though."

Vanessa turned away from her, looking in the mirror. Jacqueline watched as she pulled stray pieces of brown hair away from her face and spoke as she was looking at her reflection. "Are you kidding?" Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Finn couldn't keep his eyes off you at lunch, Jacqueline."

"W-what?" Jacqueline's stutter broke out for a moment, because she was, for some reason, feeling nervous.

"Uh-huh." Vanessa turned to face her again, and cocked her head to the right. "Are you _happy _about that?" she teased.

"No!" she said, much too quickly for her lie to actually sound convincing. Looking back at Vanessa's all too knowing stare, she blushed. "Maybe a little?"

"Do you like him?" Vanessa was serious again, taking a seat on the chair across from Jacqueline's bed. "It's okay if you do, you know."

"I… I don't know," Jacqueline said truthfully. She had to admit, she liked it more than she normally would have when he called her "Jack", or when he laughed, or when he said, that one time, that she was pretty. And, as Vanessa had pointed out, he'd been unable to "keep his eyes off of her."

But there was no future for it — Finn had almost kissed Kristal today, so it wasn't like he was really looking to get to know Jacqueline more. _Which is absolutely okay_, Jacqueline told herself. But she still felt her stomach tighten at the thought, because she was, once again, lying to herself.

She really had to stop doing that.

"_I _think you two would be cute together," Vanessa said. "But it's just my opinion."

"I don't think it's even a possibility, Ness." Jacqueline bit down on her lip. "Even if I did want there to be something between us — which I don't think I do — he almost kissed Kristal today."

"What?!"

"I'm not kidding," Jacqueline told Vanessa, and briefly recounted the events that had occurred earlier that morning. (She had left out, of course, the tiny little detail that she had been listening by the door the entire time, conveniently pointing out that she had "accidentally interrupted" them. Jacqueline didn't like lying, but, sometimes, it had to be done. Like now, for instance.)

"Crap," Vanessa murmured. "I totally ship you guys."

"Ship?"

"Yeah, it's like… when you think two people would work well together as a couple, or already do work well together, you ship them. Like, if you shipped the twins' mom and dad — which is kind of weird, because they're old-ish, but whatever — you would ship _Sizzy_, for Simon and Isabelle. Or, if you shipped Finn's mom and dad, you would call them _Clace_."

"That's sort of strange, Ness." Jacqueline laughed, but she couldn't help but enjoy this momentary happy feeling of having a friend. It was much better than that thought she had been having earlier about not fitting in.

Anything was better than that, most assuredly.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Ness explaining shipping to Jacqueline was probably my favorite part to write. Just saying.

Anyways, please, please review! I will try as best as I can to respond to everyone in the opening author's note, which will probably be easy because I only get like four reviews a chapter. But that's okay, because you all are the nicest reviewers ever! (But, if there is something you didn't like, let me know! I won't be offended.)

If you want me to review something, private message me or let me know in a review. (I think I've said "review" like a thousand times in these author's notes, no joke.)

Thanks for reading!

-Mimi


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I had eight reviews on Chapter Twelve! I'm so excited, you have no idea! I wasn't expecting that many (along with the new followers and story favorites), so I decided to write another chapter for you guys! Yes, two chapters in two days – and this one is 1800 words. I feel accomplished. :)

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**Beth: **No problem! Read my Author's Note at the end, though, regarding updating for this week.

**Booklover1598: **Yes, the Runes thing will definitely be coming into play, though not until my ending. Which I hope will make you cry. (Just warning you.)

**MIgirl923****: **Finn and Jacqueline really need a ship name. Honestly.

**Roselinta07****: **You always write the nicest reviews! I'm so glad you like it, and the Runes thing will be explained near the end.

**Arocksprpl2****: **I had to explain shipping to my SS teacher once – funniest experience of the year, let me tell you!

**Heroherondaletotheresuce****: **First of all, your username is amazing. Secondly, your review was like my favorite this week, because you were super nice and I'm really glad you ship them!

**Corndoggies13****: **Lol, I found it funny too! That's why I added it. I'm glad you did though – I wasn't sure if people would. :)

**Guest: **Grr, your review got cut off on my computer! I wish I could read all of it, but my computer is super spazzy. Thanks for reviewing though, and I hope you like this chapter!

**Enjoy this chapter, guys! It's from Finn's POV.**

Chapter Thirteen

It was midnight.

Finn had a strange habit of staying up late. It wasn't like he couldn't sleep — he was actually feeling somewhat tired at the moment — but there was just something so… powerful to watch the streets of New York City at night. To know that the world was still going, still occurring right in front of your eyes as you slept, and you might never even know about it.

So Finn stayed awake to at least midnight almost every single night. He actually couldn't fall asleep without having spent a significant amount of time on the balcony adjacent to his room, one of the only ones in the entire Institute. Most of the time, Finn would just watch the taxis rushing by, or feel the wind on his face, or maybe he even would sketch. He wasn't one for painting or sculpting, but drawing into a blank notebook with a simple pencil was one of his favorite hobbies.

No one knew this, of course, not even Kristal. He'd thought about telling his family, even his mom, what with the talent she had always had in art, but he liked keeping some things about his private life, well, private. It was also kind of embarrassing for a guy to draw. He'd already humiliated himself when he had moped around after Kristal had broken up with him — adding "sketching" to that list wouldn't really be his idea of something smart to do.

He almost wanted to think of Kristal, especially with the kiss they had almost shared. But he didn't, because he'd get so angry at himself and confused about just _what _to do that it wouldn't be worth it.

Jacqueline, though, he wanted to think about. Truthfully, she had been popping up into his brain at times when he would least expect it — when he was looking in the mirror, as if he wanted to impress her, when he ate breakfast and she wasn't there, and he wanted her to be, when Kristal came to flirt with him for what felt like the thousandth time, and he wished Jacqueline had been there instead. Which was completely idiotic. She was just someone he met, someone he was friends with. That was all; there weren't any other reasons he should be thinking about her.

But, still, he thought about her a lot, too much in all honesty. She probably had a boyfriend back wherever it was she came from, and she'd end up going to visit him soon or something, or just leave the Institute altogether.

That was the strange thing, though — nobody knew where Jacqueline had come from, except for probably Brother Elijah and the other Silent Brothers. (And it wasn't like they were actually going to tell anyone else, or do anything _useful _with the information.) His mother didn't even know, and she was the one who had found Jacqueline when the demon had attacked her. Nobody wanted to ask her, and even if Finn was tempted to, he knew he wouldn't. It wasn't for him to bring up, because that was her choice alone, not his.

He watched as one of the streetlights hit a pure white sign on the billboard across the street, reminding him of the way the light in the training room could hit Jacqueline's almost-white hair, creating the color he saw now. Propping his elbows up against the railing of the balcony, he felt himself picturing an image in his head.

An image of her.

Not of Kristal, the girl that had occupied his mind for much too long.

No, this time, he was picturing Jacqueline D'Angelo in his head.

—•—

About an hour later, Finn was holding a piece of slightly rumpled paper in his right hand, a pencil in the other. (Like his father, he was left-handed.) On the paper was a rough sketch of Jacqueline, staring off into space somewhere. He'd caught her doing that a lot, and Finn assumed she was lost in her thoughts and far, far away from reality. He could relate to that, though it happened less frequently to him than it appeared to occur with her.

It wasn't a great sketch of her, as it was unfinished, but it was something, at least. He'd captured her almost perfectly, specifically with the curve of her nose and the shape of her thin lips. But her eyes, so captivating — but it wasn't like he'd ever admit that, not even silently to himself — were just… not right. At all. Maybe it was because he wasn't using colored pencil to get their extraordinary blue shade, but they looked too innocent and untouched on the paper. Jacqueline's eyes, though wide, weren't naïve. She had a grasp on life, even if she could lose herself from reality sometimes.

She was so unlike Kristal, and for that, he was extremely thankful.

Suddenly ashamed of himself, Finn took the piece of paper, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it across the balcony. Watching as the paper flew through the air, he cursed. What the hell was he thinking? He had just drawn a picture of _Jacqueline_, a girl he barely knew anything about. He had just been cheated on by Kristal; he shouldn't be getting into any sort of relationship, especially when that girl hadn't shown any interest in him whatsoever.

Or had she? Jacqueline was always smiling whenever she was near him, she bantered back and forth with him, she had been watching as he had been with Kristal this morning...

All of a sudden, the wind picked up and it began to drizzle. He was tempted to go inside and actually _sleep_, but he wanted to get the drawing of Jacqueline first, to make sure she'd never, ever see it. He'd rip it into pieces or burn it or keep it hidden away somewhere, with the rest of his drawings that no one would ever look at. Before he could get the picture, though, the wind carried the piece of paper off of the building. It fell to the ground, onto the sidewalk.

He wanted to get it, before anyone could see it. It didn't matter if that person was some random person on the street or if it was Jacqueline herself, but there was no way in hell that picture was going to be held by anyone but him.

Finn abruptly ran down the fire escape stairs, smoothing his partially wet hair away from his forehead. He was practiced at sneaking out of the Institute, so he knew it wouldn't be that hard to run down the stairs that were near his parents' room. Naturally, he paused a little when he was a few feet away from their window, but Finn kept his eyes glued to the little ball of paper — though his vision was being slightly obscured by the steadily increasing amount of rain that was no soaking through his white t-shirt, he somehow just _needed _to have that drawing.

His feet were light against the stairs, an acquired skill from all of his years in training. In only a few moments, he had reached the bottom of the Institute. The rain was turning into almost a complete downpour now, so he couldn't hear anything, but Finn could've sworn he heard footsteps behind him.

He reached down to pick up the sopping wet drawing of Jacqueline and quickly shoved it into the back pocket of his jeans. Just as he turned around, however, to go back upstairs, he bumped into someone. Hoping against hope that it wasn't his parents, Finn looked up into the eyes of the person standing before him.

It was Jacqueline.

"Um, hi," she said quietly, the rain soaking through her hair and jacket and making her look much smaller than she actually was.

"Hi," Finn responded, and automatically wanted to face-palm himself. Because "hi" sounded intelligent. Yeah, definitely.

"Um, I couldn't sleep—" they both said at the same time, and broke off.

"You first, Jack," he told her, watching her as she smiled softly.

Jacqueline pulled her arms, hidden underneath a sweatshirt, around her to conserve the little warmth she had. "I, uh, couldn't fall asleep tonight, so I decided to take a walk."

"I was just awake," Finn said, shrugging and smiling. He wasn't going to tell her about the picture, no way. Who would?

Jacqueline shivered. "God, this rain _sucks_."

"Well," Finn asked, "would you like to go inside?" He was just as cold as she was, and he thought, in the back of his mind, that she looked pretty with the rain dripping down her pale skin, her hair soaking wet. Not that many girls could pull that look off, but she could.

"Please," she murmured, and she stood closer to him. They weren't touching — he knew she wouldn't touch him, for reasons that he hadn't yet known ever since he had met her — but it was closer than they had ever been, as if they both needed the warmth from each other.

They both walked in silence back up the stairs from which Finn had come, mostly because the rain was too loud for them to really hear each other if they _were _talking, but also because they had wanted to stay quiet, so as not to have Finn's parents, or anyone else, for that matter, hear them.

Finn and Jacqueline headed into a quiet living room, far away from the bedrooms of the rest of the Institute. On the wall was a big television set, an unlit fireplace in the corner, and two squishy loveseat couches in the center. Finn's mom had insisted that there was some piece of her old mundane life with her at the Institute, and despite the fact that his dad hadn't really understood it, he had changed it from an empty guest bedroom into this "normal" den.

Though Jacqueline and Finn hadn't spoken, both knew that they wanted to talk with the other person, at least just for a little while.

Finn, using a box of matches that were too far up for either the twins or Lizzie to reach, lit a fire in the wide fireplace, noticing that Jacqueline was still shivering. When he wasn't up on the balcony at night, sometimes he would come in here, and in the wintertime he would often light fires. It was something he had to be careful about, and he took it seriously. Nowadays, though, it didn't take him that long to crumple up the pieces of newspaper and twigs to give off the warmth and light that only a fire could provide.

Sitting on the couch and wrapped in a thick blanket, Jacqueline asked, "Finn, could I tell you something?"

"Sure, anything," he whispered, taking a seat beside her.

"It's kind of a long story."

"That's okay. I've got time."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Might not be able to write another chapter this weekend, sorry guys! I'm super busy.

Please review? I want to hear exactly what you think! Don't sugarcoat it – tell me what you like and don't like!

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend if I don't talk to you before then!

-Mimi


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I got eleven reviews on the last chapter! That's the highest I've ever gotten – thanks so much, you guys! Also, yes, I did just update for the third time in three days. You're welcome. ;)

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS:**

**XxGiRlOnFiRexX****: **Your review made me laugh as I read it, and it's one of the reasons why I tried to update so quickly! Also, I'm going to try to slow things down a little bit – Jacqueline and Finn won't be falling in love for awhile. (At least, that's what I'm hoping for.) Let me know if my pace ever gets too fast or too slow, though.

**booklover1598****: **I'm very glad you liked it! Anything specific you want me to keep writing about? Let me know. :)

**MaiaIsabel****: **I'm glad to know you liked it from Finn's POV. Let me know if you ever want me to do it again! :)

**Reading Addicted****: **Your review was so sweet! I'm definitely not going to get very graphic with my romantic scenes. (I'm a young teenager, so I'm not comfortable writing that.) And I will try not to make any super complicating love triangles. In all actuality, it will probably be a love square… That's just a possibility, though, I'm not sure if I'll bring another person in. And yes, Finn was not going to be Jace. First of all, because I can never actually write witty enough responses to make him sound like the real Jace, but also because I'm tired of the whole "bad-boy/good-girl" thing.

**Guest: **You're so nice! I'm very glad you're impressed by my writing, though I apologize for this chapter. I'm like half-asleep right now, so it might not be my best.

**heroherondaletotheresuce****: **Yes, that picture will definitely come back into play, but I'm not sure who will find it. Maybe Kristal, maybe Jacqueline, or maybe even another yet-to-be-introduced character… :)

**MIgirl923****: **Angeldale! I love that so much, as you can tell by my overuse of the exclamation point. Send me any other ideas if you have any. :)

**Brittney: **Ooh, I like that ship name! And I'm very happy you like it. Anything I can do better? Let me know! :)

**Arocksprpl2****: **Sorry for the cliffhanger, lol, I'll try to do less of them. I just needed a good closing to the chapter.

**corndoggies13****: **Yes, that was a bit of a filler chapter, wasn't it? Sorry about that – I just didn't want to start the whole "story-of-my-past" thing yet. Thanks for letting me know, though! Please keep reviewing and telling me things I can do better.

**Jc: **Well, I tried to hurry with a new chapter! I hope you like it, and no worries about not reviewing.

Chapter Fourteen

Jacqueline watched him. Yes, she hadn't been able to sleep that night — but it was far more than just that. No, she almost considered running away tonight, going back to her life of playing the guitar in subway stations and making a living for herself.

After Vanessa had left her room, Jacqueline had been thinking for the rest of the evening about just how much she _shouldn't_ be living at the Institute. There were already so many people there, so surely they wouldn't miss her. And she took up Finn's time, having to have him train her. Besides, there was already something weird about her, what with the messed up Rune discovery of today (or, rather, yesterday, considering it was past midnight now). Why waste precious time on someone who might not even be a Shadowhunter at all?

So she'd thought about leaving, which was why she had been outside, trying to think. She never would have left in the middle of the night, not after all they (especially Clary and Finn) had done for her, but being cramped in her room was not good for the sort of thinking she was going to have to do. Jacqueline needed space… Just to be able to think.

In the end, though, she decided she wasn't going to leave. Jacqueline couldn't imagine, even with the short time she had been at the Institute, going back to her old life. Not that her old life was bad, but she couldn't shake this, this feeling she got here, this feeling of safety. She had never felt safe before, but being here, wrapped up in a blanket and sitting near Finn, the roaring fire before them….

Well, it was as close to safe as she had probably ever gotten.

"So are you going to tell me this story of yours, or what?" Finn teased, a sly smile on his face.

"Oh, right," she murmured, thankful that for the darkness of the living room, Finn couldn't see her blushing. "I… Have you ever wondered where I came from, before I was in the Institute?"

Despite the little light, Jacqueline was still able to watch Finn as he opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, unsure of himself, and she fought the urge to laugh. "Um, a little, I guess," he said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, looking down. "But don't… don't tell me if you don't want to."

Jacqueline smiled, shaking her head. "It's okay. I've just never told anyone before."

He didn't respond; he just looked at her fiercely green eyes that looked as if he could read the inner depths of her soul with just a quick glance.

"I spent all of my life in an orphanage, up until about two years ago," she told him, looking at the palms of her hands and playing around with her fingers. "But I left when I was thirteen."

"Why?" he asked. From that simple, three-letter word, Jacqueline knew that if she had had any doubts about telling him her deepest secret, they had all evaporated in that one sentence he had just spoken. He sounded curious, even caring, as if he really wanted to know.

"When I was at the orphanage," she explained softly, "there was a woman who ran the girls' side of the building. Her name was—" she paused, as it almost hurt for her to say the name, "—Mrs. Ferrival. She was the type of woman who needed to be in control all the time, and for her to surrender that power… Well, you wouldn't want to be near her when it happened."

"She sounds like my mom," Finn said teasingly, grinning through the dark room.

"Your mom is nice, not like her," Jacqueline said seriously, and she watched as the smile faded from Finn's face. "Mrs. Ferrival was awful to the girls in the orphanage. She would work us for too long, she never gave us proper meals, she said the most _terrible _things, and when we tried to stand up for ourselves…."

"What? What happened, Jack?"

"She would hit us," Jacqueline said, staring at her lap. "She'd even throw the older ones into isolation, with no food for a good twenty-four hours, because she thought that they needed stricter punishments than the younger ones. Those she would just hit, again and again, because if they were younger, they'd be easier to control."

"Jack, I… That's completely… awful," Finn whispered, and Jacqueline thought she saw him slide a little closer to her on the couch.

"And I remember, once, there was a knife," Jacqueline said. She was getting lost in her thoughts now, and instead of keeping them quiet, she was just saying them out loud. Torn away from reality, Jacqueline was barely conscious that Finn was sitting beside her, and said anything that came to her mind. "Oh, god, and it _hurt_. All because I tried to help Lucy… And there was blood on my hands, and my shirt, and all over my arm, and it wouldn't stop bleeding. It wouldn't stop, and I thought… I thought I was going to die in that closet she had me inside of…."

"Jack," he said softly. "Jack, it's okay, I promise. You're here, okay? Here in the Institute with me, not her, not with anyone else who can hurt you."

Jacqueline blinked twice, finally remembering where she was. "I shouldn't have told you that. God, I'm sorry, Finn, I was just thinking of it again, and I shouldn't have, and—" She broke off and stood, about to leave the room and go far away from Finn and far away from these memories that she had tried to keep hidden away for so long.

He stood up, too, though. He almost reached for her hand, but stopped himself quickly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Hey, I'm not mad. You're allowed to talk about this stuff, you know," Finn said. "And you said you never told anyone?"

"Who was I going to tell?" Jacqueline whispered shakily. "The other girls, they knew, sometimes, what happened, especially when it happened to them. And the little ones would just say 'thank you, Jackie,' when I made sure they had enough food. But that was it. I was the oldest; it was my job to protect them. I wouldn't even _want _to tell them."

"But you told me," Finn said, almost saying it like a question.

"You're a good friend, that's why," Jacqueline responded, smiling at her feet and not daring to look into his eyes. "And I figured you wouldn't laugh at me."

"Why would I laugh?" Finn asked, doing something she never thought he would have done.

Gently, and slowly, without waiting for Jacqueline to respond, he touched her thin shoulder, as a sign that he was trying to comfort her. Watching Jacqueline warily out of the corner of his eye, Finn made sure that she wasn't jerking back or widening her eyes in fright. As his fingers lightly brushed the fabric of her sweatshirt, he almost immediately took his arm away.

"Is she the reason why you… you don't like it when I do something like that?" Finn asked her, looking at her curiously.

"Well, usually, yes," Jacqueline whispered. "But… I didn't really mind that time."

—•—

"So why didn't you run away earlier, Jack?"

Jacqueline sighed. "It's not like I enjoyed having the things done to me that Mrs. Ferrival did, but I didn't want to leave the other girls alone with her. Because she would target anyone, not just me — though it was usually only me."

"But what happened when you were thirteen, then?" Finn asked as they sat on the couch, watching the flames of the fireplace jump and dance as they spoke.

"The head of the boys' side of the orphanage finally caught her when she was… when she had been with me. Of course, she was sent to jail — but I ran away. I knew I wouldn't be able to stay in any orphanage ever again because of everything that had happened."

"I don't think anyone would be able to," he said gently. "But where did you go, if you didn't go back to an orphanage?"

Jacqueline blushed. "This is sort of embarrassing."

"Oh, c'mon. I'm not going to tell anyone."

"I kind of just… moved onto the streets," Jacqueline said slowly, gauging his reaction. Finn's expression didn't really seem to change, so she continued speaking. "I played my guitar and sang and I earned money and I… got by, I guess."

There was a moment of silence between them, and Jacqueline found herself silently hoping that Finn wasn't going to think she was strange or disgusting or poor or some other awful adjective. She didn't know why, like many things relating to Finn Herondale.

"I don't think I've ever met a girl who would be able to do that," Finn said genuinely, smiling at her. "Not even Vanessa. Just to live on your own, making your own money, when you were only, what, thirteen? That's impressive, Jack."

Jacqueline assumed that he was being a little nicer than he would have been normally, considering how she had almost been shaking before when reliving the memories with Mrs. Ferrival. Still, she knew he was being honest and truthful as he spoke, for some reason unbeknownst to her.

"If you could, please don't tell anyone, at least not yet," she said. "I'm kind of trying to keep this quiet, at least for a little while."

Finn nodded, not saying a word.

They stayed in complete silence for a few minutes, Jacqueline with her knees curled up to her chest as she sat on the couch. She didn't know why she had told Finn any of this. It had just been running through her head while she had been walking. _I wonder what he would do if I told him_, she remembered thinking. In the deepest part of her heart, she had wondered if he wouldn't talk to her again if she told him about her past. But she was thankful he'd been so understanding about her situation, been so kind and caring throughout all of it.

The warmth of the fireplace and of Finn's body, a mere few inches between them, combined with the late hour, made Jacqueline very tired. Slowly, she felt her eyelids grow heavy and she fell asleep on the couch beside Finn.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I have no idea when I will next be able to write. Probably on Monday, I would assume, but I'm not sure. There will probably not be a chapter tomorrow morning, sorry guys!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for any proofreading errors.

Please tell me if you like these from Jacqueline's POV or if I should switch to Finn's more. Or maybe tell me about the pace of my plot – too fast or too slow? (Or somewhere in between?) Please let me know about anything that struck out at you, whether it's good or bad.

Thanks so much, and have a good Friday!

-Mimi


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I updated again! This is like, what, the fourth time? I'm very excited, if you haven't noticed. :) Anyways, I apologize for any grammar mistakes in this chapter. It's also starting off briefly in Finn's POV and then going back to Jacqueline's, just so you know.

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**Reading Addicted****: **I actually did add a bit of a part with Chris into this chapter because you said you wanted to know a little bit more about the twins. It's brief, but I hope you like it. It also gave me a way to introduce another character, so thanks for that as well.

**MidNiteFay415****: **Yay, I'm very glad you like it, and that the pace is going well. Let me know if you have anything else, good or bad, that you want to tell me about my story. :)

**corndoggies13****: **Any reason why you prefer Jacqueline's POV over Finn's? Or if there's not, that's fine too. Thanks for reviewing!

**Brittney: **Yes, I'm very glad that she finally opened up to someone, especially considering it was Finn. :) And I do have their first kiss scene planned out, though it probably won't be for awhile, sadly.

**booklover1598****: **"Aww" is literally the word I think I'm going to use to describe the rest of this chapter, lol. Thanks for reviewing! :)

**XxGiRlOnFiRexX****: **Your review was so nice that I actually read it to my mom when I first got the email about it, because I'm just that cool, lol. :D I'm so glad you eagerly await each chapter, though I'm sorry if I do torture you with my waits. Hopefully I'll be able to update more quickly this week. Thanks for reviewing, definitely my favorite review for that chapter. :)

**MIgirl923****: **Finline is so cute! It even rhymes, which makes it that much better! :)

**GingerNinjaaa****: **Jinn! I love it! And I'm so glad you like my story. Anything specific you want to tell me about it, good or bad, just let me know in a review. :)

**Arocksprpl2****: **I'm glad the pace is going well, because that's something I struggle a lot with when I write. And hopefully this chapter will be sweet and warm as well!

**JACY14****: **I'm glad you said the thing about switching POVs, because I actually did that in this chapter. I'm so happy you're enjoying this, and please keep reviewing – tell me what I can do better! :)

**Enjoy this chapter, guys!**

Chapter Fifteen

Finn was watching the fire in the fireplace in front of him throw shadows and little hints of light across the otherwise dark room. He hadn't said much to Jacqueline, though, once again, he was thinking of her. How she could've been so strong, when she was so young, seemed to be beyond him.

Sometimes, when he heard about his father's life as a child, that he was taught "to love is to destroy", he had thought that his father was the strongest person he would ever meet. Or, sometimes, he would think his mom was the strongest person he would ever meet — though she didn't talk much about her life as, well, as a mundane, he remembered wondering how she could have just moved to the Institute in the way she had. Finn's grandfather, Luke, had supposedly abandoned her, his grandmother, Jocelyn, had been in a coma, and Simon, her best friend and his godfather (along with being his sort of uncle by marrying his Aunt Isabelle) was mad at her, for reasons his mother had never told him.

What shocked him, though, was that it seemed Jacqueline had actually had the opportunity to run away, but she hadn't, because she'd wanted to protect the other girls. Lucy, was that the name she had mentioned? To go through the abuse she had experienced, he would have imagined Jacqueline to be bitter and angry and mad at the world.

But she wasn't.

Looking over at her again, Finn saw the steady rise and fall of her chest as she lay, curled on the inner side of the couch's armrest. He smiled at her, knowing she was asleep.

If he was in a romantic movie, or maybe even one of those fanfictions Vanessa had been reading once — they had been very strange, he had thought, all of those obsessive fangirls writing stories and all — Finn might carry her back upstairs, into her room. But, knowing that his arms around Jacqueline might frighten her, especially with the conversation they had just had regarding the awful Mrs. Ferrival, he decided against it.

Instead, he stood up quietly, going into the closet that was in the far corner of the room. Reaching for a pillow and a thicker blanket than the one she had now, he slipped the pillow underneath her fair-colored hair and covered her still-wet body with the blanket. He was careful not to touch her the entire time, so she wouldn't be afraid.

Biting his lip, he took one last look at her as he went to stand in the doorframe of the living room. "Good night, Jack," he whispered, and silently vanished from the room.

—•—

Jacqueline awoke the next morning, more dazedly than she normally would, as she wasn't sure quite where she was. She blinked a few times, trying to get a feel for her surroundings. While sifting through the memories of last night, Jacqueline finally figured out she was in the living room, where she had told Finn… everything. Despite being nervous about it, he hadn't said a word that made her think he thought her crazy or a freak or insane. Once, she had even wondered if he had been impressed by her ability to live by herself.

Jacqueline yawned, covering her mouth with the palm of her hand. It was early in the morning, though judging from the amount of light streaming in through the window, she thought everyone was probably just not awake yet. It was a Saturday, so she figured everyone was sleeping in. Lucky them.

Deciding on a whim that she didn't really feel like trying to fall back asleep — even though she had gone to bed so late — Jacqueline decided to go to the library and read for a little while. It wasn't like there was much she could do anyway.

She walked down the hallway towards the library with light footsteps, not wanting to awaken the rest of the Institute. There weren't many bedrooms around that area anyway, but the whole place seemed so ridiculously silent at the moment that she felt that the slightest bit of noise could make the entire building wake up.

When pushing open the doors to the library, Jacqueline decided to take a seat in the chair she had been sitting at the last time she had been inside. Her book was lying beside her on the tiny wooden end table, just where she had left it.

Although it had been quiet when she had first arrived, she heard the quiet murmurings of two voices far away from her. For a moment, she wondered if it was Kristal and Finn, and her heartbeat quickened. Still, she was just overreacting, because she recognized the young, high-pitched, energetic voice of Lizzie, and another male voice.

Jacqueline stood up, dog-earing her page to mark her spot, and walked through the aisle with the book in hand. She poked her head around the corner to see Christopher and Lizzie sitting together in a big, squishy recliner. Lizzie's hair was pulled into a braid, though it looked as if it had been slept in, considering the red, flyaway hairs that were surrounding her face. Christopher, with his dark hair and eyes, had glasses perched on his nose. An open book lay on Lizzie's legs as she sat on Christopher's lap.

Jacqueline thought it was the sweetest thing she had ever seen. The almost-teenage boy with a little girl on his knees, and he was _reading _to her. "Hey, guys," she whispered, smiling.

Chris looked surprised that anyone else was in the library, but Lizzie just jumped up and ran over to Jacqueline. "Hi, Jackie!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Jacqueline's waist to give her a big hug.

_Jeez, another nickname, _she thought. But she didn't mind — it was nice to know she was appreciated in the Institute, and it made her wonder why she had ever considered leaving in the first place.

Jacqueline almost laughed at the little girl standing in front of her. "Hey, Liz." Looking over at Chris, she added, "And hi, Chris."

"Look, Jackie!" Lizzie cried, running over to where Chris was and taking the book off of his lap. "It's _Little Red Riding Hood_! It's my favorite book, see?"

"I like that one, too," she responded kindly, looking at Chris. He looked amused by this situation as well. "And can I ask why you guys are awake?"

Lizzie looked sad for a moment, and she stared at her feet, rocking back and forth on the tips of her toes. "I had a nightmare," she explained sadly. "So I woke Chris up, and now he's reading to me."

Jacqueline smiled. "I'm sure he appreciated that, waking up nice and early."

"It's okay, though," Chris said, jumping into the conversation. In that one sentence, Jacqueline could already tell how much he loved the little girl standing near him. Even though they were only cousins, she noticed that Chris was almost like a protective big brother of Lizzie.

Sometimes, she wished she had had a relationship like that with someone. But, having grown up in the orphanage, there really hadn't been any relatives in the picture — at least none that she knew of, anyway — so it hadn't really turned out like that.

There had actually been one boy, though, that she saw from time to time when they were in the orphanage, whom she might have been close with if the circumstances had been different. It had been before Jacqueline had started trying to stand up for the girls, so Mrs. Ferrival had been a bit more lenient about letting the boys from the one side of the orphanage visit the other.

They only saw each other a few times a month, Jacqueline and the boy, whose name was Tony. She didn't remember much about him now, since they had both been young, but Tony would always try to sneak her food or an extra blanket every now and then, because he knew about the awful conditions she lived in. Still, no real sort of friendship had evolved from it, because there really just hadn't been an opportunity for it. He ended up being adopted by some family when he was around eight and Jacqueline was seven, so they never saw each other again. And, only a year later, Lucy had come to the orphanage, so Jacqueline never really thought about him again.

She wondered now if she might ever see Tony, so many years after. The family that had adopted him had lived in New York, she thought, but, with the city being the size that it was, the odds of it seemed unlikely.

Jacqueline ended up settling down into an armchair on this side of the library. She could hear Christopher whispering the words of _Little Red Riding Hood_, _Jack and the Beanstalk_, _Cinderella_, and other countless fairytales to Lizzie as the early morning hours passed them by. Eventually, Lizzie and Christopher had left to go get something to eat.

At around nine o'clock or so, Jacqueline still not hungry for breakfast, she heard the library door open. Glancing up from the pages of her book, she saw Finn come striding into the room.

"Hey," he said, giving her a small smile. "Training is cancelled for today."

"Why?" Jacqueline asked curiously.

"My parents have to go out for the rest of the day, and they don't want us training without some sort of 'adult supervision.'" He said the words mockingly, rolling his eyes. "But, they'll be back tonight, so Ness basically begged them to let her go to Pandemonium."

"Pandemonium?"

"Oh, it's just this all-ages club," Finn explained. "I used to, uh, go with Kristal sometimes." He broke off, sighing. He clearly hadn't wanted to bring up Kristal. "But, yeah, that's, um, not the point. Basically, _we _have to bring Ness to Pandemonium, because my mom doesn't want her going on her own."

"'We' as in you and I?" Jacqueline said. "Finn, I've… never really gone to a club before."

"Oh, c'mon," he said. "I bet you'll like it — everybody likes Pandemonium."

"I'm not all that good at dancing…" she murmured, blushing. "I don't think I'll really, um, fit in."

"Nobody's going to notice you if you dance next to me," Finn said teasingly, "because I am an _amazing _dancer."

"I doubt it."

"I can prove it to you, if…."

"If?" Jacqueline raised her eyebrows.

"If you come with me tonight." Finn smiled, rolling his eyes again. "You walked right into that one, Jack."

"Ugh, fine," Jacqueline said, though she was secretly excited about the prospect of going to Pandemonium with Finn. "I'll go."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Next update should be on Monday, maybe tomorrow if I have enough time… :)

So, I have a lot of ship name requests for Jacqueline and Finn: Finline, Jinn, Angeldale, and a bunch of others! If you like them, tell me, and maybe we'll do a vote on which one we'll use later on.

Please review! Are there any characters you would like to see more/less of? Is Jacqueline too nice? Basically, anything you remembered by the time you finished reading this chapter, tell me about it, whether you hated it or loved it. Did you like the part where Finn mentions fanfictions and obsessive fangirls? I was laughing as I wrote that. :)

Have a good rest of your weekend, and I'll talk to you soon!

-Mimi


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Sorry for the wait on this chapter! I hate school so much – I can't actually write like I do over the weekends. And if you ever want to read my only other TMI fanfic, it's a one-shot called "Together" where Clary finds Jace kissing another girl. Tell me if you read it and I'll love you forever :)

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**booklover1598****: **Your reviews always make me laugh out loud, especially when they're about Kristal. And (spoiler alert) yes, you sort of guessed right about Kristal showing up. But she doesn't really ruin everything.

**Guest: **Yes, fangirls and their ways, lol. I'm glad you're looking forward to the next chapter – anything I can improve? Let me know.

**Reading Addicted****: **Well, I've always pictured (though I haven't really written it yet) that Chris and Isaac are very different, but they're very close. Chris is similar to Simon because he's a little more nervous about things, though he's nowhere near as nerdy as Simon (he does read a lot, but he's not a D&D kind of guy), because he has a bit more of that "athletic, Shadowhunter" sense thing going on. Isaac is more like Isabelle, being that he's generally more athletic and impulsive than Chris. That being said, however, whenever Chris is being too wary, Isaac pushes him to try and actually _do _something. It's the exact opposite, however, when Isaac is being too aggressive and irrational – Chris then tells him to be a little more cautious. They balance each other out like that, so they're good friends, even though they're both secretly jealous of the other's abilities. And I'm very glad you enjoyed the Chris and Lizzie bit, lol.

**ForTheGloryOfSparta****: **The thing about Tony seems very likely to me… ;) Anyways, I'm glad you like the pace – it's something I struggle with a lot, so I'm glad to know it's working out well.

**missy1234567890****: **It's your favorite, really?! That makes me so excited, you have no idea! Yes, something is definitely happening at Pandemonium (but not until the next chapter, except for a little Finn/Jacqueline halfway romance thing) and – spoiler alert – Tony will show up. But hopefully not in the way you expect… :)

**GingerNinjaaa****: **I'm so glad you like it! (And your username is awesome – I'm a strawberry blond, and almost a ginger lol.) Thanks for the follow and the favorite, and if you ever think of anything I can improve, let me know. :)

**Arocksprpl2****: **Hopefully this Pandemonium Club chapter will have some memories, too, lol! I hope you like this chapter. :)

**MidNiteFay415****: **Yes, I had to add in that bit about obsessive fangirls, basically because it was almost midnight and I was _still _writing (which proves how obsessed I am) and I felt I should add it. And I'm glad you like when I reply to reviews. I just want to interact with everyone, you know? :)

**Enjoy the chapter, guys, and please read the Author's Note at the end. Thanks!**

Chapter Sixteen

"Ness, can I ask why you're doing this to me? I don't really care if my hair looks good or not."

"Oh, live a little, Jacqueline! It's not that bad."

Jacqueline was inside of Vanessa's bedroom, sitting on a stool in front of a vanity table. Vanessa was furiously brushing through Jacqueline's tangled hair, not really seeming to care if it hurt her or not. Jacqueline, on the other hand, was biting down on her lower lip to keep from crying out. Vanessa didn't appear to have noticed.

Vanessa put the brush down on the table. "See, I'm done. And now go look in the mirror and thank me for my wonderful work on your hair, _and _your makeup, _and _your outfit to wear to Pandemonium."

Begrudgingly, Jacqueline got up from her seat and stood in front of the full-length mirror. Her legs stung a little, considering she had been sitting and letting Vanessa do goodness knows what to her for probably the past hour.

She looked at her reflection and almost jumped at the sight of it. She looked, well, she looked really good (for her, anyway), but Jacqueline barely recognized herself. Her hair was completely down and falling, somehow, in waves around her upper back — but her hair wasn't actually wavy, at least, not most of the time. And Vanessa had found her a dress that was a mixture of purple and blue, which somehow brought out the icy color in her eyes.

But her makeup was an entirely different story. Eyes rimmed with eyeliner on her… waterline, was that what it was called? Mascara that made her eyelashes look twice as long, even, making her look a little older. Ness, though, wasn't one to overdo anything, so her lip gloss was just a pale shade that she couldn't really identify.

"Holy crap, Ness," she murmured gratefully, tucking a piece of hair behind her ears.

"I'm a genius, I know," Vanessa teased, and stood beside her. Whispering in Jacqueline's ear, she added in a singsongy sort of voice, "Finn won't be able to take his eyes off of you."

Jacqueline responded by playfully throwing a pillow in Vanessa's face.

—•—

Jacqueline was waiting downstairs, near the front door of the Institute. She kept replaying Vanessa's words in her head: "Finn won't be able to take his eyes off of you…" Did she want that, to have him notice her? That was the confusing part. Of course,_ everything _about Finn Herondale was confusing, but that was beside the point.

Suddenly, a sadly familiar, sickeningly faux-sweet voice drifted through the air. "Hi, Jacqueline!"

"Hey, Kristal," Jacqueline said, turning around to face her. Thankfully she had kept the disdain out of her voice, though her tone was much more muted and toned down than Kristal's had been. _Please don't ask where I'm going, _she thought. _Please, please, please don't ask._

"So why are you dressed up?" Kristal asked, giving the biggest smile that Jacqueline thought she had ever seen. "Are you going out?"

Jacqueline was an awful liar (and she didn't like to do it, either), so she decided to stick by the truth. "Yeah, I'm, uh, going to Pandemonium with Vanessa and Finn."

"No way!" Kristal exclaimed. "I used to _love _going to Pandemonium. Finn and I would go all the time, no joke."

For some reason, the thought of Kristal and Finn dancing together in Pandemonium (or, what she imagined Pandemonium would look like, anyway, considering she had never been there) made the inside of her stomach churn. But, pushing the thought away she quickly said, "Yeah, I've never been there, and Vanessa really wants to go, so…."

"I totally have to show you around, then!" Kristal said excitedly. "I'll just go get changed." She then quickly jogged gracefully back through the hallway and went upstairs. _That wasn't an invitation! _Jacqueline wanted to yell out to her, but decided against it.

Finn, walking in as she was walking out, looked at Kristal with a puzzled look on his face as they passed each other. Once Kristal was out of earshot, Finn sighed. "She's coming, isn't she?" he said tiredly, probably having expected it.

"Um, yeah," Jacqueline said meekly, giving a weak smile.

Finn ran his fingers through his hair. It was a habit, Jacqueline noticed, seeing as the all the times he had done it, and she saw it most often when he was upset or nervous about something. "Damn, alright," he said. "But, that's not really why I came down to talk to you. I needed to give you this."

He held a sharply edged blade towards her, reflecting the light of the room and casting little hints of shininess around the area. Noticing her wide-eyed expression, Finn explained, "Just in case. Pandemonium is known for having its demons."

Jacqueline just nodded, murmuring a quiet "thanks." She took the knife from him nervously and slid it into her shoe. In that moment, while adjusting the laces of her boot and being sure that the knife was entirely concealed, she immediately felt self-conscious, having completely forgotten about the way she was dressed — completely unlike the way she usually looked. Did Finn like it? Did he think she looked stupid? Or maybe he hadn't noticed at all….

Of course, she quickly rebuked herself for being so idiotic. Why should she care what Finn thought? She didn't care. No, she didn't, not at all.

Alright, maybe she cared a _little _bit. But not that much, honestly.

Jacqueline turned away from him slightly, pretending to look at the picture that was hanging on the wall to her right, so he couldn't see her blush. But, what she _didn't_ notice was the way Finn was looking at her — just like the way Vanessa had said he would.

—•—

The Pandemonium Club was pretty much what Jacqueline had expected when Finn had told her about it. There was a line of teenagers out the door, a muscular bouncer in the front, either allowing or not allowing someone in. Finn had used a temporary, short-lasting glamour on the four of them — he said his parents had told him to use it for "safety reasons", but Jacqueline had just figured it was so they could cut the line unnoticed.

Which they did end up doing, and Vanessa led them into Pandemonium.

It was dark inside the club, obviously, and lights of every neon color imaginable flickered, bouncing across the walls and onto those who were dancing. And there were a _lot _of dancers. Jacqueline had worried for nothing — no one would even notice her at all, considering how tightly packed together everyone was. Sure, someone might catch a glimpse of her, possibly, but no one's eyes were going to be on her the entire time. Thank goodness.

Even if she had overcome her shyness a little around the Institute, Jacqueline still didn't like to have the watchful gaze of others on her.

"You ready?" Vanessa said to her, noticing Jacqueline's almost wonderstruck expression. "C'mon, let's go dance!"

"Ness, I told you already," Jacqueline said, having to yell over the pounding beat of the music. "I'm an awful dancer."

"Well, let's find out just how bad you are, then, shall we?" Vanessa grabbed Jacqueline's wrist and pulled her towards the near center of the dance floor. Immediately, Vanessa began dancing like she'd been doing it all her life, though, knowing Ness like Jacqueline did, she probably _had _been a dancer at some point.

_Help me¸_ Jacqueline mouthed to Finn. He laughed at her awkward position. Jacqueline felt she would have laughed too, seeing her not dancing at all and surrounded by all those who were, if she hadn't actually been in the situation.

_You're on your own_, he mouthed back to her, shaking his head and smiling at her. Kristal was following him around like, well, like a lost puppy, Jacqueline thought, but Finn hadn't appeared to have noticed.

Jacqueline responded with a classic eye roll, one that she appeared to only use when she was with Finn, and tried to continue dancing with Vanessa. It mostly consisted of a lot of lunging towards the center, with a little shaking of her shoulders and hips. Jacqueline felt awkward and out-of-place, but Vanessa had insisted she was doing fine. _Of course, _Jacqueline thought, _she's probably only saying that because she doesn't want me to leave her to dance by herself. _

Finally, however, after feeling like she'd danced for hours (though it had been only a few minutes), Jacqueline told Vanessa that she had to get a drink. She responded with a shrug of her shoulders, and began to dance by herself.

Only Vanessa could do that, Jacqueline thought, dance all by herself. Well, not _all _by herself — she'd attracted the stare of a boy who looked like he was a little older. She knew that Vanessa was a Shadowhunter and that she could protect herself, but Jacqueline felt a little uneasy about leaving her behind. Still, she felt like an overprotective mother, and decided to get a drink anyway. Vanessa would get help if she needed it.

To her surprise, she saw Finn at the bar, drinking some sort of non-alcoholic drink that the workers at Pandemonium were selling.

"Where's Kristal?" Jacqueline asked, looking to his side.

"Well, _that's _a nice way to greet me, Jack," Finn teased. "'I'm not actually going to say hello, but where's your annoying ex-girlfriend who finally stopped leaving you alone?'" he said mockingly, trying to sound high-pitched like a girl.

"Ha, ha, ha, you're so funny," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "But seriously, how did you ditch her?"

Finn shrugged. "Told her I needed to find a place to put my jacket, and she just ran off somewhere. Personally, I'm hoping she stays away for a little while — I'm enjoying the Kristal-free moments."

Jacqueline grinned. "Me too. Mind if I hang out with you for a little while?"

"Nah, that's cool," Finn said. "Where's Ness?"

"She's dancing, over there, see?" Jacqueline pointed to the front of the dance floor, where she was dancing with the tall, muscular-looking boy.

Finn, looking where she was pointing, put his drink down on the bar. "Crap," he muttered, biting his lip for a moment.

"Okay," Jacqueline said, still not seeing what the problem was, "if you go all 'I'm her sort-of big brother and she can't dance with guys' then I'm going to laugh at you."

"No, no, it's not that…" Finn trailed off, watching as Vanessa and the boy started to walk off towards one of the back rooms in the club. "Do you still have that knife I gave you?" he asked her.

Jacqueline nodded. "Yes, why?"

"Well," Finn said, a determined look growing on his face. "That boy, Vanessa's going off with?"

"Yeah?"

"He's not actually a boy."

"Well, what is he then?" But, suddenly, a horrifying realization dawned on Jacqueline. "No, you don't think…?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking," Finn said. "C'mon, let's go."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Any guesses as to what's going on? Tell me in a review!

So, did you like it? Hate it? Wish Kristal didn't exist? Wish Jacqueline and Finn could just get together already? Tell me anything you liked or disliked, I won't mind!

Also, two last things. First, is there any sort of music you listen to or think of when you read these chapters? Let me know, because I might need some inspiration in, say, around five chapters or so. Second, I think we've narrowed our choices down to TWO ship names! (Cue the applause!) We have Jinn and Finline, so vote in your review which you think is the best and we'll use it!

Next chapter should be happening sometime before Friday.

And if you answer all of those questions I just listed, I will be ecstatically happy. Just saying. ;)

Have a good week!

-Mimi


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Sorry for the wait on this update! I had tons of school stuff, but this chapter is probably the most intense I've written so far. No Kristal, really, either, for all of you Kristal haters out there. :) I'm in a rush, also, so sorry for grammatical errors.

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**Reading Addicted****: **I'm glad you like the twins' description, and thanks for the music recommendations. I've heard of those bands, but I've yet to listen to them. Are there any songs you like particularly?

**ForTheGloryOfSparta****: **I'm so happy you're enjoying this! And yes, that's exactly why I put Kristal there – so we could all love to hate her (to use Reading Addicted's words) together.

**MidNiteFay415****: **Yes, I definitely want to interact with those who read the chapters more – it makes me feel like I know everyone better, lol. And this chapter reminded me of the original TMI demon-fighting moments as well, actually, so I hope you like it for that reason.

**Arocksprpl2****: **There will definitely be two major dancing scenes that I know of, though not for awhile yet… :)

**corndoggies13****: **I would _love _to get Finn and Jacqueline together, but the thing is… my ending is sort of already planned out, and it wouldn't work right if I got them together too soon. I'm sorry, but I'm glad to know that you like their romance as much as I do! Thanks for reviewing. :)

**roselinta07****: **Lol, basically, every time I think about Finn and Jacqueline, I either think, "Oh, that's adorable!" or "Aww!" So yes, that is definitely the word to describe them.

**booklover1598****: **Hahaha, your review made me laugh again! I'm glad you like the surprises, but let me know if I ever do too many of them. (I've been known for that.)

**XxGiRlOnFiRexX****: **Yes, that annoys me too! I try to not have the entire story fixated on romance. Most of it is, but I never want it to be too much. But, if it ever changes, tell me and let me know so I can fix it. :)

**Abnormally-Blonde****: **I'm so glad you liked it! Anything I can improve?

**missy1234567890****: **I can't tell you just yet, but if you read the chapter you'll find out, promise. And I agree with Finn about the Kristal-free moments, too. :)

**Isabelle Lightwood 16****: **REALLY?! Asdfghjkl, I'm so happy! It literally makes me ecstatic that you like this enough to tell your friends. Thank you so much!

**Ranqu: **I'm glad you think she's funny, because that's something I try to incorporate. Generally, I have a sarcastic sense of humor, so my characters do (sometimes) as well. Let me know if there's anything I can fix.

Chapter Seventeen

Jacqueline walked quickly and briskly next to Finn, not saying a word and trying to keep up with his long, determined strides. Together, they weaved a path throughout the crowded dance floor of Pandemonium, both trying to get to Vanessa as fast as they could. To Jacqueline, Vanessa was her first, real friend since Tony — which didn't really count for all that much, seeing as they no longer were friends and she hadn't seen him in goodness knows how long. But to Finn, she knew, this girl was his sister; though not biologically siblings, they both had lived in the Institute for a long time and protected each other.

To have Vanessa go off with a demon — for that's what it was, a demon that looked human — was nerve wracking for the pair.

Still, it was hard for Jacqueline and Finn to maneuver their way throughout the throngs of people to reach Vanessa, and now, their job was more difficult, considering she and the demon had just turned out of sight and down to one of the back rooms, near the rear entrance of the club.

"My parents are going to kill me for this," Finn said, pushing rather aggressively past an intensely dancing couple as he continued to look for Vanessa.

"No, they won't," Jacqueline said kindly, reassuring him. "They'll get mad at _me_, not you, because I left her dancing with it."

Finn stayed silent again, probably scoping the room for where exactly Vanessa had gone. Jacqueline, as she walked, wondered just _why _Vanessa had gone off with some strange "boy" she had just met. Yes, she was fourteen, so she could still be considered young, and she was allowed to make mistakes, of course, but weren't Shadowhunters always supposed to be on the watch for things like this? It made her nervous to see Ness acting like this, and Jacqueline prayed that it was only because of Vanessa's newfound love of Pandemonium that she wasn't thinking straight.

Jacqueline, getting more nervous by the second, began jogging towards the back of the club — bypassing Finn completely — thinking that was where they had last seen Vanessa. Jacqueline didn't want Vanessa to be hurt by this demon because of her actions, and she wanted Finn and her to get to the darkened rooms in the back corner of the club to help Vanessa before it was too late.

She didn't want to think about what "too late" meant, though.

"C'mon," she said to Finn, jerking her head to the left hallway of Pandemonium. Still, he wasn't grasping which direction she wanted him to go in, so boldly — bold for Jacqueline D'Angelo, that is, but probably not for anyone else — Jacqueline put her hand on Finn's elbow and pulled him to the hallway. He looked surprised, but he was much too focused on Vanessa's safety to realize what a monumental thing Jacqueline had just done: she had touched him, not accidentally but purposefully, and without fear of him.

Finn followed her just like Jacqueline had imagined he would have, and they walked away from the swirling lights and the blasting music and the carefree dancers, none of them knowing that there was danger right under their noses.

But Jacqueline and Finn did, though, and they were going to face it — together.

"This way," Jacqueline whispered. "I hear voices."

Quietly, the two walked in unison on the tips of their toes, being careful not to make a sound that would announce their presence to the demon. Jacqueline, so focused on following Vanessa and staying on her tail, had forgotten how frightened she was. She was going to face a _demon_, a demon of Hell, and she didn't feel like she was prepared for it. She had had what, two training sessions with Finn? (One of which, she would remember later, was cut short by the mysterious occurrence with the golden Runes.)

But Finn was beside her, and, although he was a skilled Shadowhunter who could easily keep her safe from harm, Jacqueline felt a sense of protection radiating off of him that she hadn't found with anyone else — something much bigger than just him protecting her because he had to. It was a strange feeling, but, she had to admit, she liked it.

"Here," Finn said hoarsely, keeping his voice down. They stopped as the hallway led into a dark room, but a single light was on top of Vanessa and the demon.

"You're a very beautiful girl, Miss Vanessa," the demon said soothingly, creating an almost barrier as he walked in a circle around Vanessa's body.

"Thank you," Vanessa murmured quietly, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.

There was something odd about Vanessa, though, that Jacqueline noticed almost immediately. Her eyes, usually so sharp and alert, looking almost… glazed over. As if she was both there, and not there, at the same time.

Almost as if she was… possessed by this demon.

Jacqueline's thoughts were confirmed when Finn whispered, explaining into her ear, "A _Teneo _demon, Latin for 'possesses.'"

She almost shuddered at the thought of a demon being able to control Vanessa's body to do what it wanted with her. "How do we get rid of the hold it has on her?" she asked nervously.

Finn, his eyes not on her as he responded, said, "We've got to kill it, and the hold should go away within a few minutes after that."

Jacqueline nodded. "But how are we going to kill it?"

"You've got to distract it, okay? Just… act like a spoiled mundane girl. Or, better yet, like Kristal." Finn looked at her seriously, his tone both deathly cold in the presence of a demon but yet still kind because he was near her. "And then I'll come in and kill it. I won't you leave in there too long, or it will possess you too."

Jacqueline felt her heart beating rapidly, and she bit down on her lips. "Okay," she said, for that was all there really was _to _say. Of course she would help Vanessa, and it wasn't like she was going to leave Finn all alone to kill the _Teneo_ demon by himself, but it was frightening to go in by herself like this.

She wanted to say something that sounded intelligent, a sort of farewell, perhaps, but nothing came to mind, so, with a growing sense of determination, Jacqueline stepped into the room.

"Vanessa!" Jacqueline exclaimed, trying to sound like one of those stereotypical teenage girls that she would sometimes see on television. "I can't believe you just, like, totally left me in there! God, it's _so _freakin' disgusting in this place, there's like, glitter, and, sweat, ew, just totally all over the place. I hate it. I can't believe you actually made me, like, come here. It, like, no offense, _sucks_."

Her somewhat monologue had the demon pause, and it made its way over to her, forgetting about Vanessa completely. Though it looked like a human boy, Jacqueline could smell its demonic scent and she watched its alluring yet frightening black eyes and tried to look bored. Not like she could throw up, which was _exactly _what she felt like doing now.

"God, _who _are you?" Jacqueline continued on with her acting, hoping that she could stall the demon long enough for Finn to jump in and kill it. "She, like, _just _broke up with her boyfriend — thank God — and now she just totally comes in here and is all over you! Jeez, Ness, I thought you had more sense than that."

"Oh, I've forgotten all about her now," the demon said, beginning to circle around Jacqueline in the same way he had done with Vanessa. "You're much prettier than she is, aren't you… little Shadowhunter?" His eyes widened with pleasure, smiling evilly, and Jacqueline knew automatically that the game was up. It knew that she was a Shadowhunter, so it was time to drop the charade. _Hurry, Finn, _she thought.

"I would have thought," the demon continued, "that you and your little Shadowhunter friend might have had enough sense to keep your voices down in the hallway, but I suppose you didn't." In that moment, just as Jacqueline was about to speak, the demon opened its mouth wide, and its human appearance fell off completely.

The _Teneo _demon had black eyes as it had before, but it was close to about ten feet tall, with huge, bulging muscles that were so grotesque Jacqueline dropped her gaze. Its teeth, though, were razor sharp and dark black, probably coated with poison.

Suddenly, the demon leaned in near Jacqueline, and she couldn't think of what to do. Did she fight him off, did she hope Finn showed up in time, did she—

All of a sudden, as quickly as it had happened before, Finn came into view, jumping between Jacqueline and the demon's teeth. Its teeth went straight into Finn's side, and he fell to the ground, crying out in mangled pain.

He had just saved her life.

Jacqueline watched as he fell, blood pouring from the open wound, the skin turning darker and darker as she watched. The demon then crouched near Finn, reaching for his body. Jacqueline realized almost too late that the demon was going to eat him. Immediately, she reached for her knife that was stowed away in her boot.

Silently walking behind it, she yelled for the demon to turn around. Thankfully, her crazy, impulsive idea worked, and the demon faced her — right as Jacqueline stabbed her knife into where she imagined its heart would be.

The demon fell backwards, similarly to what Finn had done, and she knew it was dead, watching as its body glimmered and disappeared. Jacqueline exhaled a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, and knelt down next to Finn. She felt the blood on her hands as soon as she touched him. There was far too much blood already, and it was soaking through his shirt. Finn's breathing was erratic and shaky as his chest fell up and down, his back arching far too high.

He was going to die if she didn't do something.

"Jacqueline?" Vanessa said tentatively, looking normal again as she took a few steps towards her. "Wh-what happened?"

"I… I can't explain," Jacqueline said quickly. She looked at Finn again. "I… he's dying, Ness, and I don't know what to do!"

Vanessa blinked, once, and then twice, and pulled out a cell phone from her back pocket. "I'm calling Kristal," she said. "We have to get him back to the Institute."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **The _Teneo _demon is of my creation, just so you know.

Well, did you like it? I haven't really written a good action scene like this since the prologue, and the prologue was not my best writing, so I'm hoping this is better. But, if it's not, let me know, as always!

Also, our ship name is… (drumroll here)

Finline!

I counted the votes, and it ended up being three to two, in favor of Finline.

Next update will either be tomorrow (Thursday) or Sunday evening. I will not have access to a computer over the weekend, so that's why for the long update wait. Sorry guys!

Until next time,

-Mimi


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **First, I'm super sorry I can't reply to reviews this chapter. I appreciate all of them, but I'm legitimately running out to school in about ten minutes and I had to finish this chapter for you. It probably sucks (and I'm sure I messed up _lie _and _lay _somewhere, along with other grammatical errors) and I apologize for that. If you have a question you want answered, put it into your review next time I write or PM me.

I hope you at least enjoy it a little bit anyway, though, and please review – even if you don't like it.

Chapter Eighteen

Vanessa, after speaking a few hurried words to Kristal — why she had her number at all, Jacqueline hadn't the faintest idea, but at the moment, she was thankful for it — snapped her silver cell phone closed. "She's coming," Vanessa said quietly, looking down at Finn with a sisterly sort of concern.

Jacqueline didn't respond, and instead she took off her jacket and began to soak the blood from Finn's open wound from her position on the floor. "Stay with me, Finn," she murmured, feeling her heart beating rapidly in her chest with worry for this boy she barely knew.

Expecting no response from him, Jacqueline was surprised (not to mention frightened) when Finn said suddenly in a hoarse, pained tone, "I'm… trying, Jack." His usually bright green eyes fluttered open for a moment, and then quickly shut themselves again in pain.

"Shhh," she replied, trying to quiet him down. "Save your strength, okay? Kristal's coming, and then we'll get you back to the Institute, I promise. You'll be fine." She said the words not so much as to convince him, but more so to convince herself.

Finn nodded, and Jacqueline wondered how much strength it took for him to make that simple gesture. Gently and with nimble, thin fingers, she peeled back his t-shirt to reveal more of his skin. Though usually pale like his parents, Finn's side was turning to a deep black, the demon poison in the _Teneo_'s teeth spreading throughout his skin.

That was the problem, Vanessa had explained to her, while she had been waiting for Kristal to answer her phone. When the demon had bitten Finn, usually they would have just used an _iratze_ on it, and that would have been fine. But, because the poison was spreading throughout his body, to use an _iratze_ and close up the wound would mean permanently leaving the poison in his bloodstream.

Which, in the end, would kill him.

But, likewise, with the amount of blood running down Jacqueline's hand and across Finn's body, the blood loss would kill him. So, basically, they needed to get him back to the Institute — and fast. The Silent Brothers needed to use their abilities to rid his body of the poison in such a way as to not leave any of it left.

Kristal, looking extremely different from Vanessa and Jacqueline, what with their bloodstained hands and messed up outfits, stopped short as she walked into the room. "Hey, I'm he—" Kristal's mouth dropped open as she saw Finn, and immediately Kristal's personality did a major turn-around.

Instead of being flirtatious and charming (and annoying) like she normally was, Kristal was all about business — whether it was a cleverly done charade or not, Jacqueline didn't know, nor did she care, because she'd rather Kristal pay attention to what was actually happening for once and _not _flirt with Finn.

"Call Clary or Jace and get them to pick us up," Kristal told Vanessa sternly, crouching down beside Finn and taking a look at what the demon's injury had caused. "Crap," she muttered. "This isn't good. What the _hell _happened?"

"Can't explain," Jacqueline responded, for all of her attention was on Finn at the moment. Kristal, of course, knew that this wound had been caused by a demon. Did it really matter how it had occurred?

Vanessa, meanwhile, was talking to someone that sounded like Jace, and Jacqueline could only hope that he would arrive soon. This was all her fault, after all. Finn was the one who had jumped in front of the demon to save her. Yes, it had been part of their original plan for him to show up unexpectedly, but he was smart — surely he'd known the risks of the _Teneo _demon's poison, hadn't he?

So why, then, had he jumped in front of Jacqueline at all?

Too nervous and wound up to even _think _about what that meant (and later on, she would chide herself for being so stupid and disregarding that question altogether), Jacqueline asked Kristal, "What are we going to do?"

Kristal bit down on her lower lip, thinking. "Hand me his sweatshirt, will you?" she asked after a moment.

Jacqueline quickly listened to Kristal's request, and reached for the sleeves of Finn's well-worn jacket, catching a whiff of his familiar scent on it. Kristal took it out of her hands, and, with practiced fingers, cut it into strips for a bandage with her knife. She tied it into a sort of tourniquet, and said, "This should help."

Jacqueline just nodded, praying that Jace would arrive soon.

—•—

When arriving back at the Institute, Jacqueline had expected it to be loud, bustling with people carrying various types of medical supplies and racing around the building, trying to find out what was happening with Finn. But, like most of the things in the Shadowhunter world, it was not what she had expected. The hallways were eerily quiet and dark, and Jacqueline felt as if she were invisible, being unnoticed when Finn was so injured. There wasn't a problem with that, of course — at least, not for Jacqueline anyway, but Kristal might have another opinion on the matter — and, under different circumstances, she would have been happy that all eyes weren't focused on her.

But Finn was hurt. And that was something that Jacqueline didn't want, and she'd gladly have the attention on her again if it meant Finn would be alright.

Jace was the one who had driven the three girls and Finn home. He'd had Finn lying across the back seat, with Kristal pressing new bandages onto his side as quickly as she could. Jace hadn't asked many questions about what had happened, keeping his eyes focused on the road determinedly as he drove much higher than the speed limit.

But Finn had been getting worse on the car ride. His skin, that had once been dark only at a small section of his torso, was spreading throughout his whole stomach and chest, an effect of the demon poison. His breathing was turning more to wheezing as he struggled to get air into his lungs, and Jacqueline couldn't help but notice how broken he looked as he lay there.

Finn hadn't spoken again, but she saw the way his fingers gripped Kristal's hand, as if she were the only thing that could save him.

Now, when they were walking inside the Institute, though, towards the infirmary, Jace was a little louder. He was murmuring to Clary as he held Finn in his arms, who looked like she was about to cry. Jacqueline wondered, for a moment, how Clary could be so afraid — weren't demon-caused injuries a part of Shadowhunter life? But, then she remembered that Clary really hadn't grown up in the Institute like most of her family, having lived a mundane life up until when they were both fifteen, and she probably wasn't used to this.

Just like Jacqueline.

Once they had reached the inside of the infirmary, Jacqueline, Vanessa, and Kristal were immediately sent out by the Silent Brothers and by a nervous Clary and Jace. They wanted the room to be open and spacious, so they could use their magic (or whatever the hell the Silent Brothers used for healing people) more easily.

Vanessa, the girl that Jacqueline had thought had more strength than anyone, had broken down when the three girls had gone to the guest bedroom that was right near the infirmary. "This is all my fault!" she said, tears running down her cheeks.

Jacqueline, sitting next to her, put an arm around Vanessa's shoulders. "It's not your fault, Ness, I swear," she murmured, trying to calm her down. She almost wanted to add that it was _her _fault, but Vanessa would deny it adamantly if she tried, that much Jacqueline knew.

"Yes, it is!" Vanessa shuddered as she cried more. "I was the one who danced with that demon, I was the one who begged for us to go to Pandem—"

"Vanessa," Kristal said, cutting her off. In a kinder voice, she added, "Finn knew the risks of coming to Pandemonium, okay? He knew there might be demons. Yes, you danced with the demon — but it was controlling you, and you couldn't have stopped it unless you had known it was a _Teneo_."

"I don't care; this is exactly what happened to my brother, Kristal!" Vanessa said loudly. "He got hurt by a demon just like Finn did, and he _died _protecting me! What if Finn dies just like he did?"

"He's not going to, Ness, I swear," Jacqueline told her, though she didn't know what was going to happen at all, having just said the words to calm Vanessa down. "He'll be okay, I promise."

Jacqueline and Kristal, now with each of them crying a little bit, stood in a circle in the middle of the room with Vanessa. They pulled each other in for a group hug, to reassure the others and to reassure themselves that Finn was going to be okay.

Because now, all they could do was pray.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I'm sorry for the length on this chapter! It was only about 1500 words (instead of 1800), but again, I was in a rush and wanted to update before Sunday night. Yes, that should be the next time I'm updating, and I apologize again.

Sorry again about the lack of replies to reviews, but I do hope you review anyway! Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

-Mimi


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter, so I decided to lengthen it to about 2,100 words. I would normally reply to reviews up here, but because so many of them have to deal with Finn and his injury, I'm doing them at the end so I don't spoil anything for you guys. Also, thanks for over 100 reviews! I'm so happy you guys like this and take time out of your day to review.

Enjoy this chapter, and sorry for the wait!

Chapter Nineteen

The three girls stayed like that for a long time, none of them bothering to keep track of how long they had been huddled together, trying to comfort each other without words. Tears were running down their faces, and they all were thinking the same thing: _Please let Finn be okay. _

Perhaps ten minutes later, Jacqueline heard the door of the room they were in open up to reveal a tired, disheveled-looking Clary. Her hair, though usually brushed back into a ponytail or falling in loose waves around her face, was messily worn in a bun at the nape of her neck, and her hands had a coating of red on them — Finn's blood, most probably, Jacqueline realized.

Jacqueline's heart was beating so quickly that she was almost afraid everyone could hear it. Clary's expression was so blank, so devoid of any emotion. She wasn't crying, which Jacqueline took as a good sign, but there was something about the way she was standing, the way Jace wasn't with her, that made Jacqueline nervous.

"Clary, please tell me he's okay," Vanessa said brokenly, her voice catching on another sob that had escaped from her. "_Please_, Clary, I…."

"Oh, Ness," Clary murmured, putting her arm around Vanessa's shaking shoulder and looking her directly in the eyes. "He's absolutely fine, darling."

"He is?" Vanessa put her head on Clary's shoulder, similarly to what Jacqueline would have expected a daughter to have done with her mother.

Clary really was everyone's mother here, though, Jacqueline thought, because she took care of all of the people in the Institute, no matter who they were. Hell, she was even the most tolerant of Kristal, and Jacqueline knew how hard _that _must be. She was the one who had taken her back to the Institute, too, after Jacqueline had almost been killed by the demon — Clary had saved her life that day.

It seemed she owed her life to two Herondales, now, in the span of only a few days.

"He's fine, Nessa, honey," Clary repeated soothingly. "Absolutely fine. Finn's just a little tired, that's all. Which gives him an excuse to just lie in bed for a whole week," she added jokingly, trying to get Vanessa to laugh.

She didn't seem to be paying attention however, letting more tears run down her face and only saying, "If he had died just like my brother did, Clary…."

Jacqueline could tell from the look that Clary had just had, holding Vanessa in her arms, that it wasn't going to be that easy to comfort her. Giving a quick gesture and a look only a mother could give, Clary nodded towards to the door at Kristal and Jacqueline, and the two girls took that as their signal to leave the room and give Clary and Vanessa some privacy.

Once outside and in the hallway, both of the girls looked towards the infirmary door briefly, and then quickly looked back at each other. Needless to say, the situation was awkward, and Jacqueline felt uncomfortable. "So, um… Are you going to go visit him?" Jacqueline asked, trying to fill the silence.

An odd look crossed Kristal's face for a split second, and if Jacqueline had blinked, she'd have missed it. Kristal had looked almost sad, wistful even, as if she were longing for the boy that was behind that door. But it wasn't like the flirtatious, stereotypical, "popular girl" look that she usually had. It was something quite different, and Jacqueline couldn't place what it was in the slightest.

"No, that's okay," Kristal said, smiling the first genuine smile Jacqueline thought she had ever seen from her. "But you go ahead — I know he'll be wanting to see you." She didn't give her a chance to respond, and instead walked the other way down the hall, leaving Jacqueline wondering what had just happened between them.

—•—

Jacqueline knocked twice on the infirmary door, not wanting to interrupt anything that was happening inside, whether it was with Finn or the Silent Brothers or if someone else had felt the need to go and visit him.

"Mom, I'm fine!" she heard Finn say from behind the closed doors, and she stifled a laugh. "I don't want food or blankets and I would _really_ prefer it if you didn't hover for two seconds!"

Jacqueline opened the heavy door, and peered inside the room. "Should I be insulted that you think I'm your mother?" she asked, teasing him and giving him a soft smile.

Finn rolled his eyes. "You're hilarious, Jack. And, also, if you even say, 'This is all my fault,' I will personally chuck this pillow at you. And you will have to let me because I almost died a few minutes ago."

_He really never does stop talking, does he? _Jacqueline thought, but she bit her lip as she said, "It kind of _is_ all my fau—"

Her voice was muffled when Finn threw a pillow from his bed at her mouth. "I told you I would do it," he said, laughing, "but you didn't listen."

She ignored him. "I just feel bad," Jacqueline murmured, taking a seat on the bed that was across from him. She stared at her hands, not wanting to meet his eyes. "If I had just taken my knife out when I realized that the game was up, when the demon _knew _that I was a Shadowhunter, none of this might have happened."

"But, seriously, Jack, think about it — what _really _did happen?" Finn was looking at her thoughtfully now, and Jacqueline couldn't help but notice the huge bandage that ran across his entire bare torso. She forced herself to look away from his chest, not wanting to blush every time she spoke to him.

"You said it yourself, Finn," Jacqueline said quietly. "You almost died."

"But I didn't," Finn pointed out, raising his eyebrows. "I'm perfectly fine now, aren't I?"

"Yeah, but… you jumped in front of the demon, Finn, to block me," she told him, still avoiding his gaze. She then added quietly, "I didn't deserve it."

There was a moment's pause. "C'mere, Jack," Finn said.

"Come where?"

"Next to me, jeez." Finn patted the seat at the foot of the infirmary bed, and he sat up, swinging his feet around so that he was in a better sitting position, his bare feet firmly planted on the floor. How he had managed to do that without wincing in pain, Jacqueline had no idea, considering how much pain he had been in only a few minutes before. But he was Finn Herondale, and he surprised her easily — and often, for that matter.

Jacqueline cautiously stood up and sat next to him on the bed. He had been careful to leave enough space between them so Jacqueline would feel comfortable. Still, she didn't feel entirely comfortable — and she felt insanely guilty about how she was the reason he was lying in this bed in the first place — and kept her eyes trained on her hands.

"Look at me," he said softly, tilting his head slightly to get a better look at her.

And then Jacqueline did something really stupid: she looked at him. She looked into those beautiful, entrancing green eyes that held so much kindness and sadness in them at the same time. How could he still be compassionate and good after what Kristal had done to him?

Realizing she had yet to respond and she was basically staring at him (and at his bare chest), Jacqueline murmured, "Yeah?"

"Do you _honestly _think you didn't deserve me saving your life?" Finn said seriously, looking her directly in the eyes in the same way she was doing to him. "Be honest, tell me."

Jacqueline was silent for a moment, trying not to let her usually hidden insecurity and bottled up feelings come through and come out into the open. But Finn had an effect on her that no one else had, causing her to reveal what she really thought anyway. "Yes, I don't think I deserve it," she said tentatively, biting down on her lower lip.

He responded almost immediately. "Why?"

"I… I don't know, really," Jacqueline whispered. "I just… I feel like you shouldn't have done anything, because you're so… you're so _you_ still. Because you're still such a wonderful person, even after all the absolutely awful things Kristal did to you—"

"Hey, hey, wait a second," he said, cutting her off. "I'm not really all that good of a person, Jack. Don't you remember, that first night? When you came into the training room accidentally?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

"I wasn't really all that 'wonderful' then. Or when I made you go into the dining room in front of everyone, even though I knew you still had a stutter and you were nervous around people? That's not what I would call the epitome of 'wonderful', Jack." Finn didn't give her a chance to respond the whole time, and continued by saying, "You're the one who's wonderful, Jack, okay? You deserved me saving you, and don't forget it, please."

They had somehow moved closer together as they sat on the edge of the bed, and Jacqueline had wondered, for a moment, if Finn was going to kiss her. She even felt herself _hoping _for it.

But, instead, he gently put his right arm around her shoulder. Immediately she felt her arms tense up, but it was more from habit than from anything that Finn had done. Sure, he made her nervous — but not as much as other people did, that's for sure.

But, of course, he didn't know why she tensed up, so Finn had dropped his arm quickly. "No, no, it's… it's okay," Jacqueline said, looking at him again. "I just freaked out for a second."

He nodded, and slowly put his arm around her again. Jacqueline could feel the wiry muscles in his arm and smell the scent of his skin, even when it was loosely placed around her. She didn't even wonder why he was doing this — but she did like this feeling she had, this feeling of being protected by Finn.

"Promise me you won't feel guilty, Jack," Finn said. "That I got hurt and you didn't."

"I can't promise that, Finn, you know that," Jacqueline said. "I'll get too wrapped up in my thoughts and I won't be able to just... think like that."

"Promise me you'll try?"

"Okay," Jacqueline said, smiling a little, "_that _I can promise."

Just as she was speaking, the door opened again. This time, it was Jace who had appeared, and Jacqueline noticed the likeness between him and Finn, both having the same sort of build and coloring in their faces. "Finn," Jace said, "I don't know what the hell you're doing, but sit back in your bed."

"Dad, I—"

"Do you honestly want your mother coming back in here?" Jace told him, but Jacqueline could hear the affection and love in his voice as he spoke about Clary. Again, she envied that sort of tone, and she wondered if anyone would ever have that when they spoke about her.

"No," Finn relented, sighing, and moved his arm away from Jacqueline as she blushed profusely. Sure, they hadn't been _doing _anything, of course, but the two of them, being alone… She felt embarrassed to have been "caught", or whatever it was that had just happened.

"Jacqueline," Jace asked, "could I just talk to you in the hall for a minute?"

"Um, sure," Jacqueline said, slightly nervous as she watched Jace leave the room and go into the hallway. "I'll see you around, then, I guess," she added, looking over at Finn. "Feel better. And I'm sorry, again."

"Don't be," he said, shaking his head. "I'll see you around, Jack."

Jacqueline, planning on walking out of the room, immediately had an idea. She grabbed the pillow from when Finn had thrown it at her before, and hit him in the head with it. He hadn't been looking at her, so he was caught off guard, and Jacqueline giggled.

"What was that for?" he asked, laughing that laugh that Jacqueline liked a little more than she probably should.

"My version of revenge!" Jacqueline laughed too, and then she just shrugged, leaving the room.

Once in the hall, she saw Jace leaning against the wall in a position that Finn usually frequented. Again, she noted the likeness between them. "You wanted to talk with me?" she said.

"Yeah," Jace said, sighing. "Look, even though my son will claim he can train you this week, he can't. So we need to get you a new trainer, at least for the time being."

"Oh, okay," Jacqueline responded, a little disappointed. "Who?"

"Well, as much as I really don't like Kristal, she has a brother that I can tolerate. He's about a year older than you, and he came from an orphanage before Kristal's parents adopted him."

_Great, another boy is going to train me, _she thought. "What's his name?" she asked curiously.

"Anthony," Jace said, "though he goes by Tony."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **So, this is how Tony is going to come back! Did anyone of you suspect it when Jace mentioned the thing about the orphanage? Did you like the almost kiss with Finline? Or how about the bit with Kristal? Let me know in a review, as always!

Also, I'm adding something to my chapters, called "My Favorite Quote." It's self-explanatory – I'm sure you can figure it out – but if you have any favorite quotes, let me know in a review!

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE: "**But he was Finn Herondale, and he surprised her easily — and often, for that matter."

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**heroherondaletotheresuce****: **No, I was never planning on not having Finn live. I wouldn't have a story then, lol, because he's so crucial to our plot :) But I hope you got feels from this chapter with Finn too, hahahaha!

**JACY14****: **Yay, I'm glad! Hope you like this one, too.

**booklover1598****: **Your review actually inspired me to come up with a plot twist for Kristal, and I have it all planned out now, so thanks for that! I won't tell you what it is – I don't want to spoil anything for you – but I'm so glad you review! :)

**Arocksprpl2****: **I did, don't worry! I could never kill my baby Finn, lol. :)

**Isabelle Lightwood 16****: **OMG, I can't believe you were reading it in school! That's so nice of you, I can't believe you were that excited by my update! Just don't get in trouble on my (or my story's) account. If there's ever anything I can do better, let me know.

**MidNiteFay415****: **Your review, like with booklover1598's, actually inspired me to come up with this plot twist thing with Kristal. It's really cool (at least, I think it is, I don't know about you guys), and I haven't seen anything like it yet in other fanfictions, so hopefully it will keep things interesting with Finline and everything. :)

**missy1234567890****: **Aw, thank you! That's so nice of you to say that you like my writing. That totally just made my day! And yes, I think the theme of the past three chapters or so are "Poor Finn", lol, because everything was just… sad. But I brought in the Finline almost-kiss bit to hopefully make things a little happier.

**cheyowl****: **Nope, don't worry, he didn't! Thank goodness, right? :)

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review! I'm not sure when the next update will be, but probably early this week – maybe even tomorrow if I can manage it.**

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi**


	21. Chapter Twenty

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **When I was reading the reviews for Chapter Twenty, I noticed in a review from Reading Addicted that Tony and Jacqueline's relationship was a bit unrealistic. After rereading a bunch of my chapters – especially the ones where I brought up Tony – I agreed. So, after a few PMs with her and a lot of thinking / writing on my part, I rewrote Chapter Twenty. It will seem similar to the unrevised version, but I changed a lot of the ways Jacqueline thought and acted. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Chapter Twenty

Jacqueline's mouth almost dropped open in surprise. A boy named Tony, who came from an orphanage? Was it _her _Tony, the Tony she'd known when she was young? It couldn't be; it must just be some sort of crazy coincidence.

She was almost tempted to ask Jace what orphanage this Tony had come from, but that would bring up the topic that _she _had gone to the orphanage too — and it wasn't like she wanted that topic to arise into a conversation. "Okay, thanks for, um, letting me know," she said, biting her lip as faint memories of Tony ran through her mind.

If Jace had noticed her surprise at his original statement, he didn't show it, and instead just nodded. "He'll be here for your training session tomorrow."

"Alright, well, thanks again," Jacqueline said. "I'll just let you, um, get back to Finn, I guess. Have a good night."

And with that, she hurried back to her room, worried about the prospect of tomorrow.

—•—

The next morning when Jacqueline woke up, she felt those "butterflies" in her stomach from nerves. Of course, she always had those butterflies, because she basically worried about what felt like everything — so they were almost perpetually present — but today, their insistent beating was making her stomach grow tighter and her palms grow more sweaty than usual as she anxiously awaited the moment for when she would begin training with Tony.

She just hated feeling this way, being so skittish around people. Jacqueline personally believed she had experienced a miracle when she had developed an almost trusting friendship with Finn, because that never would have happened normally with her, especially with a boy.

In turn, however, that miracle made her think that that wouldn't be the case with Tony whatsoever, even if there was a small possibility that he might be the boy she had known a long time ago. Jacqueline doubted that the beneficial, random stroke of luck she'd had with Finn was likely to occur twice in a few days, unfortunately.

She felt like she was going to have to start all over again, like she was going to have to relive her entire experience when she had begun training with Finn. The pounding, racing heartbeats she had, the quiet voice that she frequented, the awful stutter that always popped up….

Jacqueline hoped, above all else, that she wouldn't stutter around Tony, whoever he was — she _hated _stuttering.

It was on days like these that Jacqueline envied Vanessa and Kristal, or at least girls like them. They just took it for granted, to be absolutely fine when someone talked to them or they met someone new. To not have that feeling of wanting to run away and hide from their eyes, that feeling Jacqueline felt far too much.

Groaning, Jacqueline pulled herself both from her thoughts and out of her bed. Her mind was a dangerous place — she spent far too much time there, she knew that much — and she knew it was time for her to start getting ready for training, however much she didn't want to.

Jacqueline stood up, easily and quickly slipping on the black training gear, being thankful she had picked up on the somewhat complicated task within a few tries. She would have felt awful if she had asked Vanessa for help, considering the night she'd had yesterday. Jacqueline couldn't imagine what sort of pain Vanessa had gone through, thinking it was entirely her fault that her brother had died, and she wondered how she hadn't guessed that Vanessa had had a sad past.

_You're not the only one with a bad history_, Jacqueline reminded herself. _Other people have problems in their life, too. _

Vanessa concealed her pain and suffering much better than she did, though. Everyone knew, after spending a few minutes with Jacqueline, that something had happened to her, even if they couldn't place it right away.

Jacqueline couldn't believe she hadn't realized what had happened to Vanessa, though, and she made a promise to focus on someone other than herself for the rest of her time at the Institute.

She briefly glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Although having been almost rail-thin prior to moving to the Institute, Jacqueline was filling out a bit more now — and she was thankful for it. She hated looking so insanely skinny all the time, and the extra amount of food here (which was much bigger than what she had been previously accustomed to) was making a small difference.

Watching herself with wary eyes, Jacqueline wondered _why _she didn't feel the need to wear makeup today. Was it because Finn wasn't going to be there? She prayed that it wasn't for that reason, because she knew — even with their almost-kiss yesterday — that Finn still had a "thing" for Kristal, even if he denied it. Jacqueline could tell by the way he looked at her sometimes, the way his eyes had a hint of wistfulness in them, that he hadn't gotten entirely over his breakup with her yet.

Which was fine, wasn't it? Jacqueline didn't care whether he had moved on from Kristal or not, because she shouldn't care. She _didn't _care… right?

She shook her head once, as if she could somehow pull the thoughts away from her and forced herself to stop thinking about the way she had almost kissed him yesterday. She couldn't focus on that now — because it was finally time for training with Tony.

—•—

Jacqueline opened the door of the training room tentatively, wishing that she didn't have to meet someone new. She understood that Finn wasn't going to be able to train her because he needed to heal, but she was so nervous that she felt sick to her stomach. _Don't think about it_, she told herself sternly.

It was early in the morning, so there was a slight dimness to the training room still. Shadows were being casted around the room, creating patterns of light and dark across the walls and floor that made it difficult for Jacqueline to see. There was, however, a figure that she could make out, standing with a bow and arrow in the corner near the back of the area.

"Um, h-hello," Jacqueline said quietly, a stutter escaping her.

"Oh, hey," the figure said, moving closer towards her and putting the bow down. He held out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Kristal's brother, Tony."

Swallowing her nerves of shaking his hand and trying to calm her racing heart, she responded, "I'm Jacqueline," and grasped his hand quickly before letting go. She put her hand firmly at her side, still not really liking the feeling of being touched by someone else — except for Finn, that is, and even then, that wasn't always all the time.

He seemed a little puzzled by her strange way of shaking hands, but he didn't really seem to care about it. "So, you're still sort of new to this, right?" he asked. The way he said it didn't make him seem condescending or rude; rather, he was just curious, so he'd just asked a polite question about it.

Jacqueline tried to tell herself that she should just get over it, because he seemed like such a nice person, but she still felt anxious, possibly even more anxious than the first time she had trained with Finn. "Y-yeah. I only, um, got here a few days ago," she said after a moment's pause.

Tony nodded. "Jace told me you and Finn weren't, um, entirely finished learning to use knives — would you want to use those?" He sounded a little more nervous now, and Jacqueline wondered if this was his first time training someone.

"Sure, that's fine," she said, secretly happy that she hadn't stuttered that time.

Tony walked over to the wall with all of the training equipment hanging from it. He took a little more time looking over everything, probably because he didn't know this stack of supplies as well as he would know his own, so Jacqueline took the opportunity to look at him and see if she could figure out if it really _was _the Tony she had known at the orphanage.

Of course, that task was easier said than done, considering that an eight year old boy looks a lot different than the sixteen year old boy standing before her. (Jacqueline knew how old he was with simple math — he'd been adopted eight years ago, when he was eight and Jacqueline was seven, so she'd placed his age at roughly sixteen, since she'd forgotten exactly when his birthday was.)

Most of his features were darkly-colored like the Tony she had known: dark eyes, dark hair, and tan skin. He was taller and had a more muscular build than Finn, too. Tony gave off the appearance of being a football player, while Finn looked more like a soccer player or track runner — something that involved more running and speed. Still, it was hard to tell if this Tony was the Tony she had known all those years ago.

Tony walked back over to her, and Jacqueline quickly averted her eyes so he didn't tell how closely she had been looking at him. "Here," he said, handing her the knife with the handle pointing towards her. "You, um, said you used these before, right?"

"Yes, but our t-training session got cut short a little," Jacqueline said, remembering the golden Runes and the way Kristal had almost kissed Finn.

"That's okay," Tony said, smiling a little, showing his dimples. _My Tony had dimples too, didn't he? _Jacqueline wondered, as it was hard to pull memories from her younger-kid brain. "You know how to hold it?" he asked.

Jacqueline nodded, hoping she would remember exactly how to use it. She didn't really want Tony to hold her fingers and show her the correct way to position it like Finn had done, because she didn't want to seem so… strange in front of Tony.

"Are you ready?" Tony asked, holding up his knife.

The blade of Jacqueline's knife glittered dangerously in her hand as she gripped it between her fingers, and she was praying that she didn't make an idiot out of herself. "I'm ready."

And, with that, her first training session with Tony began.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Personally, I liked this chapter a lot better. Jacqueline seems a little more normal, and I like the way I described Tony. But, if you don't, please let me know in a review! Maybe you liked the old chapter better – which is absolutely fine – or you wanted some more thoughts about Finn. Whatever you remembered by the time you finished this chapter, good or bad, tell me in the review box.

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"Which was fine, wasn't it? Jacqueline didn't care whether he had moved on from Kristal or not, because she shouldn't care. She _didn't _care… right?"

**Have a good weekend! **

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi **


	22. Chapter Twenty-One

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Please read this Author's Note if you usually don't! I revised Chapter Twenty, and it's very different from what it used to be. So, if you haven't read the edited version yet, please do so before reading this chapter. (There's more info on why I revised it in the Author's Note in the revised version of Chapter Twenty.) Also, I won't be replying to reviews anymore. It takes a lot of time for me, because I do them after I finished a chapter, so now I will be replying in Private Messages (PMs). So if you're a Guest who would really like a question / review answered, let me know and I'll answer in an Author's Note – or make a username, which is even better, and I can PM you! Lastly, there's a LOT of conversation in this chapter. It's not my favorite chapter, but it's pretty long – two thousand words or so, not including my Author's Note, Disclaimer, etc. Well, I guess that's it! I hope you enjoy Chapter Twenty-One!

Chapter Twenty-One

"Remember to watch your footing," Tony told her patiently as they practiced. "You don't want to lean in too far, or else you'll be knocked off your balance by your opponent."

It was one of the few reminders he had given her during the past hour or so. He actually seemed a little bit nervous to be training her, Jacqueline thought, but she didn't understand why. He was more of a patient teacher than Finn was, and though Tony wasn't as good at being a Shadowhunter as Finn was — because, as Lizzie would have said, "Finn's the best Shadowhunter _ever_!" — he seemed to know what he was talking about.

This was why Jacqueline had calmed down, at least a little bit, knowing that he might be as nervous as she was. She wasn't saying much, of course — but, in all honesty, how often did that _really_ happen? — but her stutter hadn't popped up in awhile, thank goodness.

Jacqueline nodded as she leaned back more, trying to be less on her toes and flatter on the ground like Tony had suggested. "Like this?" she asked, watching the knives they each were holding clash together. Their practice was less intense than the training between Finn and Jacqueline, but it still gave Jacqueline that rush of energy she often had when she was training.

"Yes, that's… that's much better," Tony said, swinging with his knife towards her. "You're, um, still saying awake and 'on your toes', per se, but you're not going to easily be knocked off your feet."

She nodded and blocked his jab with the knife by quickly parrying with a strike of her own, trying the feint she had used on Finn the last time they had trained together as her counterattack. For a quick moment, Jacqueline knew she had caught Tony off guard, and she felt a rush of exhilaration.

But then, she watched as Tony gripped his arm quickly and let the knife hang loosely at his side. There was a minor scratch across his wrist, but, to Jacqueline, it looked like it could be one of those "stinging cuts" that could sometimes hurt more than an actual wound.

Noticing Jacqueline's worried expression, Tony shook his head and gave her a small smile, revealing dimples she hadn't realized were there. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Jacqueline bit down on her lip nervously. "Are… are you sure? That, um, looks like it c-could hurt." After speaking, she almost sighed. Her stutter, though brief, had reappeared — she had been wondering when it would.

Tony shook his head, smiling kindly at her. "Don't worry, Jacqueline. It's just a scratch."

"If y-you're sure…" Jacqueline said, staring at her feet and imagining how bright a shade of red her face had turned. "I'm really sorry."

"Don't be, okay?" said Tony. "I'm, uh, just going to _iratze _it quick." He walked over to the wall, grabbing his stele that was next to one some of the seraph blades and other weapons, and hastily drew the _iratze_.

Jacqueline just watched with fascination, having never really seen it done before. Yeah, sure, Finn had _tried _to do it on her, but it wasn't like it had actually worked. _All it did was turn freakin' gold, _Jacqueline thought bitterly. _And then disappear._

Tony must have seen the way she was looking at him because he asked curiously, "You haven't seen this done before?"

"No, no, I have…" Jacqueline trailed off, wondering if it would be smart to tell him about her experience with Runes.

"What?"

She shrugged, trying to make it sound as unimportant as she possibly could. It wasn't like she really wanted his eyes to be on her or to have his pity. "They don't really seem to… work on me," she said after a moment. "I used an iratze once and they, um, turned gold, moved around, and then disappeared."

"Huh," Tony said. "That's weird." His tone was not betraying any emotion, but his dark-colored eyes, however, were another story entirely. Jacqueline could tell that he was thinking along the same lines that Finn had been when he'd drawn the _iratze _on her originally: how did that happen, _why _did that happen, was she really a Shadowhunter at all… Things like that.

Those were things Jacqueline had been wondering, too, but she was too nervous to actually voice her concern to Finn or Vanessa or even Clary. "Yeah, it sort of was," Jacqueline told him.

The pair was quiet for a moment. Tony was hiding his feelings and thoughts better than before, so Jacqueline couldn't really get a grip on what he was thinking at the moment. She, of course, still couldn't decide if this really was _her _Tony, the Tony she had known when she was still living at the orphanage. Sure, they had been friends — or, sort of friends, anyway — but it was hard to recognize a boy that had been eight when she had known him and now was sixteen.

Tony broke the silence, holding a plastic bottle out towards her. "Do you, um, want any water?" he asked. "I brought a few bottles, since I didn't know if you'd want any."

"Sure," Jacqueline said, taking the water bottle from him. As her hand reached out for it, though, she noticed a tiny, star-shaped birthmark on his thumb. She almost gasped because, in that moment, she knew it was the Tony she had met at the orphanage. _Her _Tony.

She remembered seeing it, one of the first times they had met. Jacqueline had questioned him on it, thinking it was just a bit of food or dirt that he should go and wash off, but Tony had reassured her it was only something he was born with. "Oh!" Jacqueline remembered saying. "Well, it's really cool!"

Blinking once or twice as she pulled herself from the memory, unable to get over the shock of knowing that this was really her almost-friend Tony from eight years ago, she asked, "Hey, um, Tony? Can I ask you something? It's kinda weird, actually."

"Yeah, what's up?" he asked, obviously not noticing her moment of revelation, because he continued taking sips from the bottle of water.

"Tony, did you ever, um, live at an orphanage?" Jacqueline was practically holding her breath as she awaited his answer. She knew from the birthmark what it would be, of course, but she figured he might lie to her or something if he didn't like to bring it up.

Thankfully, though, that wasn't the case. "Yeah," Tony said. "But why do you—" He suddenly broke off and looked at her with new eyes. "Wait, are you…?"

"I'm, um, Jacqueline D'Angelo," she said nervously, giving him a weak smile. "We used to know each other — I lived on the girls' side of Westdell Orphanage."

"Oh, yeah, I remember you now," Tony said, smiling back at her. "When Jace called and told me he needed a trainer for a girl named Jacqueline, I wondered if you might be her."

"That's actually what I was thinking about you," Jacqueline told him. "I didn't think there was a possibility you could be a Shadowhunter, though. But I guess," she added, thinking it over, "that you probably weren't, um, thinking that about me either."

"Yeah, I became a Shadowhunter when—" Tony paused, looking over at the door that was being pushed open.

She immediately looked over as well to see the twins and Lizzie come into the room. Lizzie had her hand tightly grasped on Chris's wrist, and she was dragging him — with a surprising amount of force for a four year old — across the room to where Tony and Jacqueline were practicing.

Lizzie pointed across the room, and smiled in the way only a little girl can. "See, I TOLD you they would be here, Chris!"

"Yup, you sure told me," Chris muttered, though he smiled back at Lizzie.

"I think it's kind of funny how much she bosses you around," Isaac said, pretending to sound thoughtful while suppressing a grin.

"Oh, shut up," Chris replied, rolling his eyes.

Jacqueline personally thought it was funny, too, but it wasn't like she was going to tell them that. Though she had wanted to say some sort of greeting, instead of just standing there silently like an idiot, Lizzie bobbed on towards Jacqueline and gave her a huge hug before she could say anything.

"Hi, Jackie!" the little girl said.

Lizzie had such a bright grin on her face and such an energy about her that Jacqueline couldn't resist her enthusiasm and responded, "Hey, Liz!"

Jacqueline hadn't looked at the expression on Tony's face, but she imagined he would have looked a little more than surprised. After all, she was acting far more differently around Lizzie and the twins than she had been doing around him.

But Tony, after all, she still didn't really know all that well — even if they had come to the conclusion that they had known each other as kids, Jacqueline had yet to overcome her anxiousness around him, though it had lessened slightly, thankfully.

Lizzie released her grip on Jacqueline and gave a hug to an even more surprised Tony as well. "Tony!" she exclaimed. "I haven't seen you in forever! Where've you been, mister?"

"Eh, you know… around." Tony looked a little uncomfortable at being hugged so enthusiastically by Lizzie, but he still smiled at her.

He did look relieved, though, Jacqueline noticed, when Lizzie let go of him in the same manner she had done with Jacqueline. _Well, he _is _a boy_, Jacqueline thought.

"Tony, Chris and Isaac are being _boring_!" Lizzie said. "All they wanted to do all day was go _train_, but Mommy said they were supposed to be watching me. Could you watch me instead, Tony, pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top?"

Tony gave a sideways glance at Jacqueline and the twins. "Sure," he said after a moment, shrugging. "Why not?"

Lizzie jumped up and down. "Yay! Thank you, Tony!"

"Thanks, Tony," Isaac said, nodding towards him as he and Chris went to go get a pair of small seraph blades from the wall.

"Should I, um, stay?" Jacqueline asked curiously. She knew that watching Lizzie would probably be a bit strenuous, and she didn't want to be in the way. "I can come back later or something, if you want."

"Nah, you can leave," Tony said. "It's been an hour, right? That's long enough."

Jacqueline immediately grinned, and ran towards the door, yelling a quick, "Thanks, Tony!" She had an idea, and she knew exactly where she was going now.

—•—

Finn was still in the infirmary, bored out of his mind. The Silent Brothers, along with his father, had said that he wasn't supposed to be leaving his bed today. For the rest of the week, he could at least walk around, but he wasn't allowed to leave the Institute. It was mostly just because his injury had been so bad that they didn't want his wound to open up again. It made sense, but he hadn't exactly been thrilled when his dad had told him that Kristal's brother was going to be training Jacqueline.

The idea of it had almost made him mad, which didn't make any sense. Tony was a nice enough guy, and Jacqueline did need a trainer for the next week, even if she _was _exceptionally good at being a Shadowhunter, especially considering that she hadn't ever had any training. But the thought of missing training and her to hanging out with another guy almost made him… jealous.

It was insane, of course, but, then again, almost all of his thoughts had been insane when they were involving that girl.

Lost in his thoughts, he almost didn't hear the sound of someone knocking on the door. "Hey, it's Jacqueline," he heard her say from behind the wall. "Can I come in?"

"As long as you don't tell me it's your fault again," Finn called back, laughing a little. "But yeah, sure."

He was probably more excited than he should be that Jacqueline had come to visit him, but, at least for the moment, he didn't really care.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Next chapter will probably be from Finn's POV, because I really need to get into his head and stuff for the coming few chapters, especially since they're involving Tony.

Speaking of which, do you guys like Tony? I personally find him adorable, and I have a very interesting plan for him. I actually came up with it while I was daydreaming in English class, and I was so excited that I almost jumped up from my desk in joy. I didn't, though, thank goodness, but the point is that I _almost _did.

Also, do you like the whole "Chris and Lizzie" thing? If you do – or don't – let me know, as always!

I personally have no idea when the next update will be, so I'm sorry about that.

Have a great week if I don't talk to you!

Until next time,

-Mimi


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Well, the real reason for the wait on this update can be summed up in one word: Netflix. No, I'm not kidding – Netflix. Honestly, all I did was watch it this week. My friend wanted me to watch "Teen Wolf", so I watched the first six episodes of that, and then I watched "Glee" from season one, aka the _good _season with all those Finchel moments, so I basically didn't have time to update because of those two shows. Also, the thing I said about replying to reviews in PMs in the last chapter, never mind. I'm going to reply to them now.

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**JACY14****: **Yes, I think she's similar to Izzy, too. That's actually why I added her, because I loved Isabelle so much in TMI.

**Reading Addicted****: **I mostly PM-ed you about all of this, but I'll still respond anyway :) Basically, I want to improve my other characters' personalities before I add any more, but I do think Simon and Izzy should be coming back soon. (But probably not for another few chapters.)

**thedauntlessshadowhunter****: **Yay, I'm glad you liked it! I should be adding more Chris / Lizzie stuff, so hopefully you'll enjoy that as well. I love your username, by the way. :)

**booklover1598****: **Very happy you liked it! If there's anything I can improve, let me know! You're such a faithful reviewer, so thanks for that, too.

**Thalia Michele****: **Hmm, I'm trying to reply in a way that won't spoil the rest of the story for you. Yes, I dislike the idea of Tony and Jack together – and so does Finn, for that matter, which you'll see in this chapter. Also, the thing about moving their relationship along is that I have huge troubles with pacing when I write. If I even go the slightest bit too quickly, I basically hate the story from there on and onward, so I'm going to write "A Generation Later" very slowly. But I'm glad you enjoy the Finline ship as much as I do, and thanks for reviewing!

**I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter Twenty-Two

Finn watched as Jacqueline poked her head around the doorway of the infirmary, her blue eyes — yes, he _had _noticed they were blue, an icy shade he had never seen before, which was why their color had stuck out to him so much — shining brightly like they always seemed to do.

Jacqueline stood awkwardly near the wall, rocking back and forth from the tips of her toes and back onto her heels a few times. Finn might have teased her about it, like he normally would have, but he didn't get the chance because she asked, "So, how are you, um, feeling?"

He noticed the way her eyes darted to the partially exposed bandages on his side that were only covered by a thin, gray t-shirt before she averted them quickly. Having spent the past few days with her, Finn knew that she had a habit of doing that, that "averting her eyes" thing — but he didn't really know why.

"Eh, you know," Finn said, shrugging. "Just bored. I'm stuck here at the Institute for like a week or something. "

Jacqueline smiled, softly saying, "I guess I'm going to have to hang out with you then, won't I?"

_Now why would she say _that? Finn thought, wondering why just about everything with girls was confusing. "Guess you will," he replied, his tone similar to hers as he smiled back.

Jacqueline was still staying near the wall, and again he wondered why she was doing that. Was it because she was nervous still, about their conversation last night? They _had _almost kissed, and he'd sure as hell been close to doing it.

But that was when he had stopped himself, right when they were sitting next to each other on the edge of the hospital bed. Aside from the fact that the last relationship he'd been in had basically been a complete and utter waste of time, Finn also didn't want to rush anything, especially when he was so confused about his feelings regarding Jacqueline.

He didn't remember being this confused about Kristal when they had first met and began growing closer, like he and Jacqueline were doing right now. Finn had met Kristal a little over a year ago when his parents had first taken him and Vanessa to Idris, to visit the Glass City. (The twins and Lizzie, Eddy having not been born yet, were all too young to go, so they stayed with his Aunt Isabelle and Uncle Simon for a few days.)

She had been living there at the time, in this huge estate on the outskirts of Alicante. Apparently their parents had known each other — it seemed like his parents always knew _someone_, what with their part in the Mortal War and everything — and Kristal's mom had invited his mother and father, Vanessa, and himself to this party they were throwing, to celebrate Kristal's birthday.

Now, of course, this party wasn't just any party — it was a ball. Guests were packed into the ballroom of Kristal's mansion, all dressed in fancy garments made of fabric that Finn could never name, swirling around in brightly-colored clothes to the music that was being played by a live orchestra. The food, which was, of course, what Finn had remembered the most, had been excellently made.

But as he had been eating a piece of exceptionally-made pizza — what _else _would you expect a guy like Finn to be eating? — he remembered having his mouth almost drop open when he saw Kristal walk down the stairs.

She had looked so amazed at this party that was all in honor of her. Instead of looking like she had expected it, or even deserved it (like she would have if that same party had been thrown for her now), Kristal looked almost shocked as she had come down the marble staircase, to see all of these people awaiting her presence.

Finn probably wouldn't have acted so in awe of his future ex-girlfriend if he had been a mundane, accustomed to seeing girls his own age all the time. But he'd been growing up at the Institute, of course, and the only girl even near to age with him was Vanessa — the girl whom he treated like a sister.

But Kristal, that beautiful girl who was charming and a good Shadowhunter, that girl who hadn't broken his heart… That was the girl he had fallen in love with, the one who was so different from the girl she was now. He had wondered, when he had been so depressed after Kristal's and his breakup, what had caused her to change so much. To go from someone who was so wonderful to someone who… wasn't.

The best thing about Jacqueline, he thought, was that she hadn't changed her personality, at least in the few days he had known her. She hadn't switched or changed who she was, as if she had two separate identities, depending on the people she was around.

(He wondered, for a moment, what her personality had been like around Tony when she had been training, but quickly shoved the thought away before it could take up too much room in his head.)

Jacqueline was constant, that steady and reliable person that Finn could always count on. It wasn't like that was boring, though — to him, it made her that much more intriguing, because it seemed like there were so few people left in the world who had that trait.

The sound of her voice pulled Finn from his thoughts. He imagined he had been silent for at least a minute or so, and he wondered what had taken Jacqueline so long to interrupt his reverie. "Finn?" Jacqueline asked curiously.

Finn's head darted up, looking at her again. "Yeah?" he said, a little more quickly than he probably should have, having been trying to cover up the fact that he was thinking of Kristal again.

Jacqueline smiled, staring down at her feet. "You just… zoned out for a minute there."

"Oh. Sorry." Finn imagined, if he was as prone to blushing as Jacqueline was, his face would have turned red. Thankfully, he had learned to control _that _aspect of his life more easily than she did, and instead directed the attention away from himself, asking a question that had been nagging him. "So why do you look so shy all of a sudden?"

Now it was Jacqueline's turn to blush. "W-what are you talking about?" she asked, tucking a piece of hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear.

Finn wanted to sigh, having heard her stutter pop out again. Yes, it had still been there a few days ago, but those few days felt like a lifetime ago, and he felt bad for her, because he knew something was up. "You just look…" Finn trailed off, trying to think of something relatively intelligent to say. "Nervous."

"I don't know," Jacqueline said. "Maybe it's _you_," she added, so quietly that Finn almost hadn't heard her. If he hadn't been used to listening intently to her, considering she spoke so softly most of the time, he probably wouldn't have heard her at all.

"What did you say?" Finn asked. He didn't sound angry, just curious. Everything about Jacqueline made him curious, though, because he always wanted to know more about her.

She shook her head. "Nothing, nothing."

"You're an awful liar, Jack, and you know it," Finn said, smiling. "C'mon, tell me what's up. Was it because of… last night?"

"I… Maybe?" Jacqueline looked so anxious, and he wondered if it would be best to just drop the subject entirely, not wanting to make her feel so badly. "Look, Finn," she continued hurriedly, "c-can we just stop talking about this?"

He wanted to do that, honestly, but he also wanted to know what she had meant by, "Maybe it's _you_." That wasn't something girls usually said, right? God, everything about her was so interesting and confusing at the same time, which he thought wasn't fair. "Sure, that's fine," he relented, knowing that it would be better of him, and for her, if he didn't ask her about it.

Jacqueline smiled weakly. "Thanks," she said. "So… I missed you at training today."

"I figured you would," he teased, but couldn't help but think of what her words meant. He was overthinking, of course, but the things she was saying… Well, Finn believed they were meant to be thought about, that they had some sort of underlying meaning to them that he just wasn't grasping.

"Honestly," Jacqueline said kindly. "It's weird, not having my normal trainer there."

"Well, Tony's a nice guy, right?" Finn asked, hoping that his slight bitterness for Tony wasn't seeping through as he spoke. "Even if he is Kristal's brother and all."

She smiled again, but Finn couldn't shake the feeling that he thought something was hidden underneath that smile, some sort of message that he couldn't pick up on. "About him…" she said nervously, trailing off.

Immediately, Finn's thoughts jumped to the worst — another guy, being _alone _with Jacqueline, a girl who wasn't all that comfortable around people? If Tony had tried to take advantage of her, Finn probably would've gone downstairs and punched him. His anger showed in his tone as he said, "Did he, did he _do _anything to you? I swear, Jack, if he did, I'll—"

"_No_!" Jacqueline cut him off, shaking her head and obviously knowing what Finn was trying to say. "No, it's not like that at all."

Finn exhaled in relief, but, for a split second, he imagined Tony and Jacqueline together in the training room. Tony's hands were touching her arms and her face and her waist in this image, and Jacqueline was _letting _him, letting him hold her and kiss her and….

He _really _needed to stop this.

"Well," Finn said, hoping that his previous thoughts couldn't be seen in his expression, "what's up, then?"

"I don't know if you knew this," Jacqueline said, "but Tony was adopted."

"I did," he replied slowly, feeling like he was missing the point. "He _told _you that? You were only there for, what, an hour?"

Jacqueline bit down on her lip. "No, you see, we both grew up at the same orphanage, Finn."

"Oh," Finn said dully, praying that this fact wouldn't bother him as much as it felt like it was bothering him right now. "Did you, um, know him?"

"Yes, sort of," Jacqueline said. "We would've been friends, probably, if he hadn't been adopted when we both were so young."

_Great_, Finn thought, not responding. _They're both friends, or, well, almost friends. Because _that _makes me less nervous about this guy than I already am. _

He really shouldn't be so concerned about Jacqueline, but he couldn't help it. Finn knew from now on, though, that he was going to be very wary about Tony and Jacqueline. He could only hope that this week went by quickly — so he could go back to training Jacqueline again, instead of Tony.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **So, did you like the drama with Finn thinking about Tony and all? I added that bit where he got angry right at the end of writing this chapter, and I really like it. Personally, jealous Finn is my favorite part of this story, as of now.

Also, can you please review on this chapter? While I appreciate reading every single one of my reviews, I would love more, so I can know exactly what you want more or less of! I only had five on the last chapter – all of which were very nice, so thank you for that – but you don't know how happy I get when I hear my cell phone buzz with an email that says, [ New Review ] for "A Generation Later." I literally smile down at my phone.

Plus, my birthday's coming up, so if I get twenty reviews on the next chapter, it will be a great birthday. Just sayin'. ;)

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **Finn exhaled in relief, but, for a split second, he imagined Tony and Jacqueline together in the training room. Tony's hands were touching her arms and her face and her waist in this image, and Jacqueline was _letting _him, letting him hold her and kiss her and…. He _really _needed to stop this.

**Have a great day, and hopefully I'll update soon! Remember, please review!**

**Until next time, **

**-Mimi **


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Please don't kill me for the wait on this update. It's my last week of school, so I've been super busy with all that "end of year" stuff. This chapter is not my best, just warning you. It's pretty short, and kind of all over the place, but I like the Finline moments in this chapter, so that's good. :) And thank you to all for the happy birthday wishes and the wonderful reviews!

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**missy1234567890****: **While I'm too lazy to read through all the chapters, I'm about ninety percent sure that it's been five days that have passed. I like how Jacqueline has progressed, but I'm not really loving Finn right now. But I'll keep working at it. :)

**JACY14****: **At the moment, he will probably just stay a friend. But Finn will be very jealous, that much I can assure you. :)

**Arocksprpl2****: **I would've watched more this week, too, but I had to write the chapter, hahaha. Glad to see you're wanting Finline as much as I am. :)

**XxGiRlOnFiRexX****: **Aww, thank you so much! Your review was one of my favorites. If there's ever anything I can improve, let me know.

**booklover1598****: **There will definitely be more jealous Finn in the future, most assuredly. :)

**MidNiteFay415****: **Jealous Finn is literally one of my favorite things about AGL. So glad you like it too!

**Guest: **I will definitely try to take that into consideration! Although I've planned most of the story out from Jacqueline's POV, I will try to include more from Finn's – especially if he's jealous. :)

**thedauntlessshadowhunter****: **Hahaha, yes, Izzy would have done a lot of meddling by now. I'm thinking about adding Vanessa to some drama with getting Finline together, too.

**DoodleMistress****: **Your review made my day! I don't think it is good enough to be an actual book, but thank you so much for the compliment! Thanks for reviewing!

**XxStarrEvansxX****: **I want him to ask her out, too! But I have lots of plot twists and love triangles ahead, so…. :)

**jaclyntaylor0504****: **Aww, thank you! Glad to hear you like it, and if I can improve anything, let me know.

**Reading Addicted****: **Well, I've always pictured Finn taller than both Kristal and Jacqueline. Since Kristal's around 5'8 or 5'9 (I wanted her to be pretty tall, so she'd look like a model compared to Jack) and Jacqueline's about 5'5 or so, I'd say Finn's about six feet tall. And I'm now fourteen. :)

**GlitterFire****: **You almost cried? Really? YAY! I'm glad to hear you like it, and it can get you that emotional. And there's lots of drama coming up, so no worries about that. ;)

**Lily1111****: **Simon and Izzy should be coming in maybe five to eight chapters, depending on how this chapter goes with the reviewers. It will probably be a conversation between Simon and Jacqueline, but I can't tell you why just yet.

**Thanks for all of the reviews! Enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty-Three

Standing there in the infirmary, Jacqueline was wondering how panicked and nervous you had to be to be having a panic attack, because she was feeling pretty damn freaked out right now.

Having been excited and happy when Tony had told her she could leave training earlier, immediately Jacqueline's thoughts had jumped to visiting Finn. _I'm sure he's probably bored, _she had been thinking, walking through the dimly-lit hallways. _Sitting there in his hospital bed, bored out of his mind. _

That was when it dawned on her.

Jacqueline abruptly stopped in the empty corridor, her heartbeat quickening and her stomach clenching tightly. The first thing she had thought of, when knowing she had time to spare, was to go visit _Finn. _Finn _Herondale. _Not to go hang out with Vanessa, or just retreat back to her room, nope. What had Jacqueline decided? Oh, yes, that's right: to hang out with _him_.

Closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the cool wall, Jacqueline tried to steady her already rapidly increasing breathing, counting slowly from five to one in her head. This couldn't be happening to her, it couldn't be. She didn't have any sort of feelings for Finn, did she? There was no way. He still had some sort of "thing" for Kristal — it's not like he'd ever actually admit it, though — that Jacqueline always noticed.

Finn was just her friend; that was all. There was nothing more there, and she shouldn't be so nervous about this, right? Just because she had never had a crush on anyone before — Jacqueline barely saw other boys, aside from Tony, that is, at the orphanage — didn't mean that she had one now. Jacqueline was probably just tired, what with the early morning training and the previous late night, and wasn't thinking straight.

Of course, why had she stayed up late? Oh, yeah — because she had been worried about Finn. (It was, after all, her fault in the first place that he was in the infirmary at all, but that was hardly the point.)

"Oh, god," she murmured, hoping no one else in the Institute could hear her. She tried count backwards again, praying that her nervous breathing and heart rate would steady themselves. _Five, four, three, two… one, _she thought, and exhaled slowly.

For a moment, the panic she had been feeling seemed to have subsided, and almost instinctively, Jacqueline began continuing her path to the infirmary. It seemed insane to believe that by going to see Finn, the boy that she was freaking out about, was the same boy who could help her calm down.

But, right as she reached the infirmary door, Jacqueline felt that her deep breathing exercise hadn't really taken away all of the anxiety she was feeling right now. God, she was being so _stupid_! She should just go back to her room right now and sort all of, well, whatever the hell this stuff was, out before she did something even more idiotic.

Her body, however, seemed to have another idea. Something inside of her made her want to announce her presence to Finn, so, for some reason that was unbeknownst to her, she had done it, knocking on his door and asking if she could come in.

And he'd looked so _happy_ to see her, which was the strangest thing of all that had occurred that day. Jacqueline tried to sound confident while speaking to him, as if she could somehow push her strange, recently occurring feelings away, but all of her words sounded strange and confusing, even to her own ears. She wanted to leave — she never should have even come into the room in the first place — but exiting right now would make her seem stranger than she already was acting.

And now, here she was, trying to not think about their almost-kiss last night while conversing with him about Tony. Finn had noticed the way she was so nervous, obviously, seeing the way she was lingering near the door and staying as far away from him as she could. But those questions he was asking her, the way he was calling her a terrible liar… He _had _to stop doing that; it was making Jacqueline far too nervous.

They must have stopped talking for a good few seconds again, because Finn said, "Jack, you sure you're okay?"

Jacqueline felt like she could pass out at any moment. Her heart was thumping painfully loudly (to her, at least) in her chest, and she discreetly tried to wipe the palms of her hands on her training gear, to rid them of their sweat.

"I… I…" Jacqueline tried to speak again, but she was way too panicky to say anything coherently. Why did she feel this way? What was the matter with her?

What was she so frightened of?

The answer to that, of course, was that she was afraid of having a crush on Finn, but Jacqueline would never admit that to anyone, not even herself.

"I have to go!" Jacqueline blurted out, her voice sounding more high-pitched and nervous than usual. Keeping her eyes trained to the floor — and away from Finn — she left the room quickly, leaving Finn with a wide-eyed expression in her place.

—•—

Finn lay there on his bed, watching Jacqueline run off. What the _hell _had just happened? Had he said something to make her want to leave? Had he done something wrong?

Maybe he had gotten too angry about Tony… God, what if Tony had done something to her, though, and she just wasn't telling him? He knew about her life at the orphanage, so he knew that if Tony did try to… to take advantage of her or something, she would be frightened.

But, somehow, the scenario he had formulated in his head just didn't seem to fit with the way she was acting. Jacqueline had almost looked nervous because of _him_, which didn't make any sort of sense whatsoever. How could he be the one to make her nervous?

The only thing he could think of that she might be uneasy about was the way they had almost kissed last night. _Maybe I shouldn't see her as much_, Finn wondered, but the thought of it made him cringe. Not seeing Jacqueline? That would be so… weird. Even though he'd only known her for a little while, Finn couldn't imagine her not being around.

Finn was tempted to just go back to sleep again, so he wouldn't have to even think about his confusing feelings regarding Jacqueline. She was confusing, which was the problem — but he liked it, at the same time.

"Nothing makes sense," he muttered into his pillow, wishing that talking to himself could somehow, miraculously solve everything.

A bright, feminine voice suddenly cut through the air like a knife. "What doesn't make sense?"

Finn looked up, surprised, and looked at the person who had just entered into his room. "Jeez, Kris," he said grumpily, sighing. "Don't you know how to knock?"

Kristal was looking bored at the moment, a hand placed on her hips delicately, but a smile crossed her face as he spoke. "What?" Finn said curtly.

"You just called me 'Kris,'" she replied sweetly. "Like you used to."

That tone Kristal had just used brought back memories, memories of when they had both been together and she hadn't had the "personality swap" that caused her to break up with him. Finn had been trying to repress those memories for ages, before he'd even met Jacqueline, even.

But it was tough to push them away, especially when he remembered so many things from the few words Kristal had just spoken. "Guess I did," Finn muttered, running a finger through his hair as he sat up straighter in his bed. "What do you want, Kristal?"

Kristal shrugged. "I just came to say, um, hello. Heard you were going to be here for awhile, and it wasn't like I really got to talk with you last night or anything."

_Thank god_, Finn thought. "Well, you're, uh, here now," he said awkwardly. It was hard to talk with Kristal nowadays, not like it used to be. She was one of those people who talk for minutes upon minutes — but Finn didn't mind. (In all honesty, he couldn't even take his eyes off of Kristal, being so captivated by her entrancing way of speaking.)

Kristal must have picked up on the awkwardness in the room as well, because she said, "Finn, I didn't just come here so I could talk with you. I mean, yeah, I want to talk with you, but it's more because I have… something to tell you."

Finn looked at her with curious eyes. She sounded serious for once, and he raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Well?" he asked, trying not to sound as harsh as he normally would have.

Swallowing, Kristal said, "I broke up with Raphael."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I only scanned this quickly when I was proofreading, so I apologize for any grammatical errors.

I might be editing this chapter if you guys don't like it. So, do YOU think I should edit? Let me know, and remember to be honest!

I'm not sure what I want to do with the next chapter. I might have a little Vanessa-Jacqueline scene, I don't know… But hopefully it will be better than this chapter.

Also, did you like the bit with Kristal and Raphael? I was thinking about waiting until the next chapter to spring that bit of news on you, but I decided to do it now. :)

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"Even though he'd only known her for a little while, Finn couldn't imagine her not being around."

**Remember to review, and tell me exactly what you think! No sugar-coating!**

**Love you all,**

**-Mimi **


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **This is the first chapter I've written in awhile that I've really, really liked. There's Finn / Kristal drama and then you find out a LOT more about Vanessa. (You'll find out what I mean when I leave you with the cliffhanger at the end.) We get into Jacqueline's head, too. But, yeah, I really like this one. Hope you do, too!

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**Reading Addicted****: **Hahaha, thanks! I'm happy to be fourteen now. And she does mess with it, a little bit, anyway, but Finn definitely has a really good reaction to her in the beginning of this chapter.

**Luvmusic87: **Great, thanks so much for your opinion! I don't think I'm editing the previous chapter, at least for a little while.

**Cheyowl: **Lol, I'm glad! And I don't think she should be with Finn, either… but she certainly does. :)

**Lily1111: **Thank you very much for the suggestion! There will definitely be some crying Jacqueline at some point, but Tony will be having a very different perspective in this story than you'll think. You'll find out what I want to do with him at the end of the chapter.

**Corndoggies13: **Well, you definitely see Finn's reaction, and it's a pretty good one, I think. I will be adding some Sizzy in maybe five chapters or so, but I'm not sure exactly.

**Booklover1598: **Yeah, I think that song might work, actually! Any more song suggestions, let me know, as always! Glad you liked it.

**Heroherondaletotherescue: **Your review was one of my favorites. I'm definitely trying to make you guys go insane with this story – the end will be even worse, trust me. :)

**Awesomeness: ** I can't promise that Kristal will stay away from Finn, but I'm glad to hear you don't want them together. And thanks so much for not sugar-coating. :)

**DoodleMistress: **Aww, thanks! If there's ever anything I can do better, let me know!

**XxStarrEvansxX: **Hahaha, I like the name you gave Kristal. You'll definitely like the beginning of this chapter, I assure you. :)

**MidNiteFay415: **I think I'm going to have some Jacqueline / Finn drama in the next chapter, but I'm not sure yet. He'll probably tell her about Kristal's "offer." (You'll find out what I mean as you read.)

**Missy1234567890: **OMG, thanks so much! I hope you like this chapter, too. And Kristal should back off – but we all know she won't. :)

**Guest: **Aw, thank you so much! I want to punch Kristal sometimes, too. But I have an actual sort of good back story about her in the back of my head that you should find out about in the last few chapters of this story.

**XxGiRlOnFiRexX: **I'm glad you liked that! I didn't want to give her only one side, you know? It's something that irritates me when I read stuff like that. And yes, I definitely don't want you to trust her – and you definitely won't by the end of this chapter. And I love long reviews, so don't apologize! :)

**Arocksprpl2: **I want him to eat her, too.

**Jaclyntaylor0504: **Glad you liked it! Keep reading to find out what happens between Kristal and Finn. :)

**Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter Twenty-Four

Finn looked at Kristal with a blank expression on his face, the first of many that would follow in this conversation, he presumed. She looked at him expectantly, as if she were waiting for him to be ecstatically jumping around or something.

"Um, congratulations…?" Finn said, after a moment. He honestly didn't _want _to care, because why should it matter at all to him?

_You miss her, _the voice in the back of his head reminded him. _At least, you miss the "old Kristal." The one you used to love. _

"Thanks," Kristal replied nonchalantly, shrugging a little with her shoulders. "It was about time to break it off, you know? He just wasn't that important to me. Not like—" she looked at Finn more directly "—some people."

Finn avoided her gaze, looking down at his hands in a manner similar to Jacqueline. He was mad she'd said that, and although he tried to force himself not to say what he was thinking out loud, Finn couldn't hold his words back. "He seemed pretty damn important to you when you were making out with him while we were still together," Finn spit out harshly.

Kristal's face looked pained for a moment, as if his words had actually hurt her, but almost immediately her expression switched back to her normal one. "Look, I just wanted to tell you, okay? In case you, you know…." She trailed off, a smirk playing across her lips.

"What are you _talking _about, Kristal?" Finn asked wearily.

Kristal just rolled her eyes. "Finn," she said sweetly, putting a hand on his shoulder gently. "I know you've been kind of… depressed, I guess I'll call it, ever since we broke up. But, now that I'm through with Raphael, you know… Maybe there_ could _be an 'us_' _again."

Finn was tired of the girl standing before him, tired of the way she acted like she could control him with a few simple words, tired of the way she acted like she deserved the world on a silver platter, tired of the way she could still make him miss her, tired of _her_.

"There's not going to be an 'us' again, Kristal," Finn said coldly, "so get that through your head. I'm, to put it quite clearly, sick of you. I freakin' _loved _you, Kris, and you treated me like I meant nothing to you. I don't really give a damn about you and Raphael, and I think you should leave. _Now_."

Though Finn was too angry to notice it, Kristal's eyes flashed with pain as he was speaking to her. Still, her tone changed almost instantaneously back to normal. "Look, Finn," she said, her words and tone similar to his. "Tell me when you get over that little infatuation with that Jacqueline chick, 'kay? Because when you do, I _guarantee_ you'll be taking me up on my offer."

And, with that, Kristal tossed her blond hair over her shoulder and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

—•—

Jacqueline was trying to walk down the hallways without passing out, throwing up, or doing some other embarrassing thing after leaving Finn in the infirmary. God, she hadn't had one of these panic attacks in such a long time.

She hadn't actually ever had a panic attack until Mrs. Ferrival had begun hitting her. It was then, she remembered, sitting in that darkened room and pressing a hand onto her recently reddened cheek, was when it had all set in.

She wasn't safe there, inside of the orphanage with an evil woman who would hit little kids, but where else could she go? She wasn't even ten yet, and she was the oldest out of all the young girls, whom she had to protect. Tony had been adopted, and there was no one left for her, no one she could trust.

She had been, to put it frankly, quite alone.

Jacqueline, the little eight year old girl, had been so frightened that her breathing had turned into almost hoarse wheezes. "What am I going to do?" she remembered saying, practically screaming the words that echoed off the walls of the room.

_You can't think about this now, _she reminded herself. Of course, that was true — if Jacqueline spent too much time thinking about the orphanage, she'd be so lost in her own flashback and her terrifying thoughts that she might never be able to get out.

Slowly, Jacqueline sat down with her back resting against the cold wall and put her head between her too-thin knees, a result of never having just the right amount of food in the past two years — five days at the Institute wasn't really making much of a difference in her appearance yet.

She didn't know how long she had stayed there, breathing slowly in and out and counting in her head, but Jacqueline imagined it had probably been a good twenty minutes or so, maybe a little less. It appeared that she had finally calmed down enough, and just as she was about to stand, a voice pulled her out of her head.

"Jacqueline?" she heard Vanessa say.

"Hey, Ness," Jacqueline said weakly, looking up at the dark-haired girl from her position on the floor and giving a small, feeble smile.

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but…" Vanessa trailed off, clearly trying to think of a good way to put whatever she was going to say next. "Um, you know what, never mind. Are you okay, Jacqueline?"

Jacqueline stood up slowly, not wanting to move too quickly and make herself sick. "I am now. At least, I think so."

"Well," Vanessa said, "'thinking so' doesn't really count, at least not in my book. C'mon, you're coming with me."

Reluctantly, she followed Vanessa down the hallway. Though Jacqueline had never told her about her past at the orphanage, Vanessa had somehow known not to grab onto her arm or something and drag her to wherever it was they were going.

She was very thankful for that, because she couldn't really handle any more panic attacks today. One was _definitely _enough.

—•—

Vanessa and Jacqueline were sitting in Vanessa's bedroom. The last time Jacqueline had been in here was last night, when Vanessa had been helping her get ready to go out to Pandemonium. It seemed, to her, like that the night's events had occurred ages upon ages ago, after what had happened.

Jacqueline couldn't help but remember what terrible shape Vanessa had been in last night, when she had been sobbing into Clary's arms about both her true brother (whoever he was) and her, though not by blood brother, Finn.

It wasn't right for her to be here now; Vanessa should be resting or visiting Finn or something, not talking to Jacqueline about why she had been sitting on the floor, of all things.

"You're giving me that look," Vanessa said bluntly, pulling her hair into a ponytail and away from her face.

Jacqueline's eyes widened with curiosity. "What look?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes, sitting on her bed and facing Jacqueline. "It's the look that everyone gave me when my brother Tyler died. That look that's filled with pity and sadness and the 'I'm sorry for your loss' thing."

"Oh," Jacqueline said dumbly. "Sorry."

"Nah, it's okay," Vanessa said, shaking her head. "Everyone else has known for a longer time than you have, anyway, and they've all gotten used to it. I guess I just wasn't expecting it yet, because I hadn't really told you openly."

"If you don't mind my asking," Jacqueline said quietly, "how long has it been?"

"He was seventeen, and I was twelve, so almost three years, now." Vanessa paused, swallowing. She looked as if she was about to cry, and Jacqueline certainly didn't want that.

"Look, we… we don't need to talk about this," Jacqueline said kindly, trying to be soothing. "It can wait for another time; I won't mind." It's not like she didn't want Vanessa to talk to her about her brother's death, but she didn't want to make Vanessa sadder than she already was, either.

Sometimes, Jacqueline was almost thankful that she hadn't known her parents, because she had never felt that horrifying sense of loss that others felt when someone close to them died. But then, other times, she'd be envious of the children she saw in the city, walking down the street with their fingers intertwined with their parents' hands. Or, she could even be angry — they had died (in a car crash, so she had been told) and left her completely alone, trying to solve her problems and the problems of the other girls in the orphanage.

"I wouldn't want you to be the only one to not know," Vanessa said after a moment. "But, if you don't want to know…."

"No, tell me if you want to," Jacqueline told her.

"Well, when I was twelve, my brother was taking me to go fight a demon that was hanging out near one of the subways. It would've been my first time trying to kill one, because I was so young at the time. Tyler told me the demon wouldn't be all that hard to kill, but…" she trailed off, clearly trying to find the courage to say what came next. "The demon targeted me, because I would be easier to kill than my brother, and it immediately tried to lash out at me with its poisonous tail. But, my brother… he stepped between us and took the full-force of the attack, similarly to what happened last night with Finn and you. He passed away later that night."

"Oh, Ness," Jacqueline said softly, and she stood up and gave the dark-haired girl a hug. It wasn't a long one, of course — it was Jacqueline we were talking about here — but it showed her care for Vanessa. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"C'mon, don't get all sentimental on me," Vanessa said, trying to put on a brave face, though there were tears in her eyes. She pulled away from Jacqueline, and said in a careful, "let's change the subject" sort of tone, "So what are you going to do this week, Jacqueline, now that you have off from training and everything?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused. "I still have training."

"But Finn's hurt, isn't he?"

"Yes," Jacqueline replied, "but, um, Kristal's brother, Tony, is going to be training me for the week. Do you know him?"

"Do I know him?" Vanessa laughed, smiling for what felt like the first time since the girls had spoken. "Jeez, yes, I know him." In a softer tone, she added, "Jacqueline, can you keep a secret?"

"'Course I can," Jacqueline said, raising her eyebrows and wondering just why Vanessa looked so happy. "What's up?"

Vanessa blushed. "Ever since I first met him, I've kind of… had a crush on Tony."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I've had that ending planned for a REALLY long time now, and I'm super excited to bring it up!

Anyways, do you guys like it, because I want to hear your opinions! Did you like the way Finn basically said, "Screw you," to Kristal, or the way Kristal knew exactly the way Finn thought about Jacqueline? What about Vanessa's crush? (I know it sounds like they're far apart in age, but it should make sense, soon.)

I really loved this chapter, and I hope you do, too!

Of course, I don't know exactly what I want to do with Chapter Twenty-Five, but I'll figure that out at some point. :)

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"Tell me when you get over that little infatuation with that Jacqueline chick, 'kay? Because when you do, I _guarantee_ you'll be taking me up on my offer."

**Maybe we can get two hundred reviews on this chapter? I would be ecstatic if we did! You know, it's been about three months since I started writing AGL? Wow! That's really cool!**

**Have a good weekend, and Happy Father's Day!**

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi**


	26. Chapter Twenty-Five

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hi, guys! Hope you're doing well. I really like this chapter, actually. It's not as good as the last one, I don't think, and it's a bit of a filler, but it will set up the next two chapters, which should have some adorable Finline moments. And this chapter is long, too, which is good as well. I don't really have much to say here today, but I hope you like Chapter Twenty-Five! (Wow, twenty-five chapters! Amazing!)

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**booklover1598****: **Ness is actually pretty cute in this chapter, I think. She almost gets… jealous. (!) Anyways, I won't spoil any more for you – just read it! :)

**XxStarrEvansxX: **Aww, thank you! Any suggestions on something I can do better, let me know! And I've noticed that a lot of people are coming up with names like that for Kristal, hahaha, but I think yours is my favorite.

**Reading Addicted: **Your review is definitely my favorite! I'm so happy you liked it – those were some really fun lines to write. And I want them to kiss, too… But I can't. I have it all planned out already, but Kristal and a certain green-eyed boy's jealousy is going to mess it all up… ;)

**Kawaii-Kaiya-chan: **Aww, yay, I'm glad! If there's ever anything I can improve, let me know! :)

**Thalia Michele: **I want my virtual pancakes. :)

**Frenchornfanatic: **I didn't have Jack tell her story to Ness, but you'll find out why in the chapter. (That, and I'm too lazy to explain it, lol.) And I'm glad you like it! Tell me if I can improve anything!

**Jaclyntaylor0504: **Thank you so much! Tell me if you have any complaints or suggestions. :)

**Lilly1111: **Wow, thanks! And I'm really trying to finish this fanfic, because I've never actually finished one before. I usually will stop at like Chapter Nine and be like, "Yeah, I don't get reviews. So who cares?" but I actually get reviews on this story, hahaha, so I'll definitely be continuing.

**MidNiteFay415: **Yes, I definitely love plot twists, and there will be many, many more, I assure you. And Finn and Kristal's part was my favorite, too. Those scenes usually are. :)

**Arocksprpl2: **OMG, thanks so much! I'm super glad you like it. I like hearing the scenarios people come up with about Kristal… I find them really funny. And you were my two hundredth reviewer, by the way. :)

**Thanks for two hundred reviews! Enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty-Fiv

"Really?" Jacqueline asked. Though she was happy to learn about Vanessa's crush — it distracted her from the possibility of her own, which was something she certainly didn't want dwell on — it certainly came as a surprise to her. Despite the fact that Vanessa knew about clothes and makeup _way _better than she did, it never struck her that someone like Vanessa would ever get a crush on a boy. "You know," she added, giving a wry smile, "I knew him, back when we were younger."

"No way!" Vanessa exclaimed, showing more energy and enthusiasm than she had ever shown in front of Jacqueline. "But… how? Kristal's parents aren't his birth parents."

Jacqueline swallowed, cursing herself for saying anything about it at all. She knew she wasn't going to tell Vanessa the whole story of her past, like she had with Finn, because it was too raw for her at the moment. With the flashback and the panic attack she'd had only minutes ago, Jacqueline knew she'd probably end up sobbing if she brought it up.

It wasn't just for her own sake, though. Vanessa, even if she wasn't entirely showing it, was most likely still not feeling too great about bringing up her own past either, and adding in two bad histories to one morning wasn't Jacqueline's idea of a good time.

Well, she had gotten herself into this by saying that she had known him. _Damn it, _she thought. _What the hell am I going to do now? _"I, um, lived at an orphanage before I came to the Institute," she said, hoping the time she had taken to respond hadn't been too long.

"Oh, okay," Vanessa said warily. "Were you two, you know… _friends_?"

She was so surprised by her tone that Jacqueline almost fell off of the chair she was sitting on. For a moment, Vanessa had sounded almost… envious. This was very odd, because she had never even pictured the words "Vanessa" and "jealous" in the same sentence.

"Vanessa Trueblood!" Jacqueline exclaimed, shaking her head. "I've never, and I'll repeat it, _never_, have had a crush on Tony. We just… knew each other. And we were like eight, for that matter."

Vanessa blushed, but she laughed, so Jacqueline took that as a good sign. "Sorry about that," Vanessa said. "I've liked him for a _really _long time now, so any time somebody even mentions that they knew him… I get jealous."

_Me too, _Jacqueline thought, thinking of Kristal and Finn. "Well, I can always put in a good word for you at training," she replied. This sort of conversation about boys and crushes was odd to her, having never actually had a friend like Vanessa with whom she could talk about this stuff, but that seemed to be the right thing to do.

Vanessa's eyes lit up. "Really, Jacqueline? You could do that for me?"

Jacqueline smiled. "Of course I can, no worries on that."

After all, focusing on someone else's crush was much better than focusing on her own.

—•—

After hanging out with Vanessa a little while longer, Jacqueline was feeling tired, both from her panic attack and the training with Tony she had undergone earlier that morning. Combining those two things with her late night yesterday, she really wanted to go sleep for the rest of the day — but a nap for an hour or two would probably suffice.

The two girls had never actually talked about the reason why Jacqueline had been in the hallway, Vanessa having been much too focused on Tony. She didn't mind, though, because she'd rather see Vanessa happy and relaxed like this than anything else. The image of her crying into Clary's arms about Tyler was far too familiar, and bringing up Jacqueline's own past would remind Vanessa of that.

She walked to her bedroom with ease, finding it amazing that she could navigate the Institute's complicated hallways so effortlessly, considering this was only her fifth day here. And only a few days ago she had been thinking that she didn't belong here at all!

Of course, those thoughts were still plaguing her mind — along with a few that revolved around Finn, unfortunately — but Jacqueline told herself that thinking of them would just make it worse. She needed to sleep and not worry about anything, at least for a little while.

So, upon reaching her room, Jacqueline decided once and for all that she was going to push any thoughts about Finn or Kristal or golden Runes or the orphanage away from her mind so she could rest peacefully and without worry. After throwing on a comfy pair of shorts and a blue camisole that Clary had bought for her, Jacqueline twisted her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head and fell asleep within a minute or two on her bed.

—•—

Jacqueline woke up to the sound of a very, very loud noise. At first, she thought it might have been her alarm clock or something, but it seemed almost _too _loud to be that. And, besides, it most certainly wasn't coming from her room.

Maybe someone was cooking lunch, and the smoke alarm had been set off? She wanted to curl back under her bedspread and pull a pillow over her head to block out the noise so she could sleep again, but when she had checked the time, she realized it was already about six o'clock in the evening. Well, certainly not lunchtime then, but it might be dinner or something.

Whatever the noise was, Jacqueline knew she couldn't stay in bed all day. (She'd slept for about six hours, so that was already a quarter of the day wasted.) Having missed lunch, she was really hungry at the moment, so she decided to go and find the source of the noise — and to get some food.

She walked downstairs, listening as she passed by rooms to hear the noise. Though she could still hear whatever the hell it was that was being so loud, Jacqueline realized that it was farther away from her than she had thought.

Moving more quickly, just because of her curiosity, Jacqueline hurried down the stairs. The noise got louder and louder as she moved closer to the center of the main hallway.

Wait, hold on a minute.

Was the noise coming from… the _infirmary_?

Imagining that something bad was happening to Finn and fearing the worst, Jacqueline wrenched open the door to the infirmary and saw Finn in the middle of the room, looking absolutely fine.

Jacqueline exhaled in relief, watching Finn. He was standing up now, though Jacqueline doubted he was technically allowed to, what with the fact that he was still supposed to be resting and recovering from his injury. It wasn't like Finn Herondale was one to follow the rules, but she thought he might at least follow thatone — considering, you know, he had almost _died _last night.

The oddest thing about this situation, however, was the fact that Finn was holding a tiny bundle under his arms. A tiny, _wailing _bundle. _Well, I guess that's the noise, _she thought. _But _what _is it?_

"Uh, Finn?" Jacqueline said, quite loudly for her, so she could be heard over whatever was making the noise. "What are you doing?"

"Eddy won't shut up!" Finn yelled back to her, revealing Eddy's face as he tried to brush a piece of hair away from the screaming baby's eyes. "My mom told me to watch him while she ran out to Taki's for dinner, but he just keeps crying, and it's not like I have any idea what the hell to do with a crying baby!"

Although Finn looked incredibly frustrated, Jacqueline thought he looked really adorable with Eddy in his arms. His hair was in a complete mess, pieces of blondish-red hair sticking up all over the place, and he looked extraordinarily large compared to the small, only months old boy that was in his toned, bare arms.

"Try rocking him back and forth, maybe?" Jacqueline suggested, tugging at a strand of her own hair and biting down on her lower lip like she always did when she needed to think.

Finn slowly began to rock the baby. Although she could tell he was trying to be gentle and soothing, his awkward movements — he really did have no idea how to do this — were actually making Eddy cry harder.

"Here," Jacqueline murmured, extending her arms out to him. "Let me."

In that moment, she noticed how thin and unhealthy she looked, her appearance reflecting that of the one when she had been living on the streets. The bones at her wrists, though not exceptionally prominent, were still noticeable. Immediately feeling self-conscious and insecure, Jacqueline remembered the curvy figure Kristal had and felt insignificant and frail — not strong, like a Shadowhunter was supposed to be.

But, when Finn placed Eddy inside her arms, she felt as though she had regained some strength. Jacqueline felt as if she were protecting and shielding this little boy from the rest of the world, and felt a bit steadier as she held him close to her body.

Whether it was because she was rocking him better than Finn or just because she was a girl (and therefore a more "maternal" sort of figure), Eddy stopped crying a few seconds after Jacqueline began holding him.

"How the hell did you do that?" Finn asked in amazement.

"What, I don't get a 'thank you'?" Jacqueline teased, smiling down at Eddy. His eyes, she noticed, were the same beautiful shade of green that Finn had. _I bet he'll look like Finn when he grows up, _she thought, but quickly pushed it away. Those were _not _the things she wanted to be thinking about if she was trying to not have a crush on Finn.

"Alright, then," Finn said, taking a step nearer to her. "Uh, thanks."

Jacqueline laughed, picturing the situation from earlier when Finn had been trying to get Eddy to stop crying. Thinking of that and the way he had just given her his awkward expression of gratitude made the whole thing especially humorous — to Jacqueline, anyway.

"You have a nice laugh," Finn said suddenly. He almost looked as if he hadn't wanted to say it at all, but gave her a bit of an embarrassed smile to try and cover it up.

"Yeah, right," Jacqueline said, rolling her eyes and trying to shrug off the compliment. _I don't have a crush on him, _she tried to tell herself sternly, but her heart told her otherwise.

"No, honestly," Finn said sweetly, but again he looked as if his words had just slipped out. This time, though, his gaze lingered on her for a little bit longer, and (shockingly) she felt self-conscious.

"W-what?" she asked nervously. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No, it's not anything bad, it's just…" He trailed off, swallowing. Did he look… nervous? Jacqueline thought he did, but figured she was just imagining it. "What are you wearing?" Finn asked finally, looking only into her eyes and nowhere else.

Jacqueline looked down at herself and her clothes. She was still wearing the camisole and shorts from when she had been sleeping, which now looked especially skimpy and were barely covering any of her skin. "I, um, took a nap before," she said shyly, "I'll just… go and change."

She was too nervous to have his eyes on her like the way he was, and just as she was about to walk (or possibly speed-walk; she wanted to get out of here _quickly_) out of the room, she realized Eddy was still cradled in her arms. "Um, here," she said quickly, feeling awkward and embarrassed as she handed the baby back to Finn. "Try to not, um, get him crying again."

And with that, she quickly left the infirmary, feeling incredibly stupid. _Finn Herondale, _Jacqueline thought as she walked back to her room to change, _you're making it very difficult for me to not have a crush on you_.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I have a question for all of my reviewers today. Actually, well, two questions, so I'm going to number them. If you answer them both in a review, I'll be extremely happy and send you a virtual hug. :)

Can you picture Jacqueline singing any songs about Finn? If so, send me a title and the artist, please!

I didn't write this chapter in order. It was the beginning of the Finn / Jack / Baby Eddy scene, and then I started the Vanessa / Jack scene, and then I went back and forth between them until I did the middle, lol. Could you tell that it wasn't written completely in order at first?

And, of course, tell me what you thought about the chapter in general. I've noticed that when I get more reviews I tend to write more quickly, honestly, so if you want to review, I'd be especially grateful – and you will probably get a faster update.

Sorry if there's any grammar errors!

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"_Finn Herondale, _Jacqueline thought as she walked back to her room to change, _you're making it very difficult for me to not have a crush on you_."

**Thanks for reading, and have a great day! Remember to review!**

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi**


	27. Chapter Twenty-Six

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I want to apologize, first of all, for the wait on this chapter. I had writer's block, and I wasn't feeling too well on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm better now, but this chapter is sort of a filler because I don't want to rush into the scene I've planned next – which should be very cute and full of Finline, by the way. Also, thank you for all of the reviews on this chapter! I really appreciate it!

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**Kawaii-Kaiya-chan: **Aww, thank you so much! I haven't heard that song yet, but I'll definitely try to listen to it soon.

**Reading Addicted: **That's a good idea, about the Tony and Vanessa thing… I didn't even think about doing that… And I love that song, too!

**Roselinta07: **I'm glad you're caught up, too! I like that cover done by Santana, too, because Glee is one of my favorite TV shows. I'm in the process of restarting the whole series, because I just got Netflix. :)

**Isabelle Lightwood 16: **Yay, I'm glad!

**Booklover1598: **Yeah, that was the whole thing I was going for in that scene: awkward.

**Jaclyntaylor0504: **Alright, thank you so much! I haven't heard that One Direction Song yet (I'm not really a "Directioner") but I'm sure it's great.

**XxStarrEvensxX: **I actually haven't heard either of these songs, but I'm sure they're amazing. And take your time with looking for songs, I just wanted to have a few backup ideas. Don't stress yourself out.

**Katerina Herondale: **I was actually planning on having her sing that song, especially when Taylor mentions that part about his smile and stuff in the lyrics. I'm a total swiftie, and that's actually probably one of my favorite songs from that album. :)

**Arocksprpl2: **It is her destiny, lol. And I wanted to have her sing because I needed a way for her to get money when she was living on the streets, because she was so young and all. I also wanted to give her a bit of a "natural talent." I know it's cliché, but it's something I just felt I needed to add, you know?

**Lily1111: **Oh, yeah, she definitely wouldn't be singing it to his face – not yet, anyway. But I'm glad you liked the chapter! The problem with longer chapters is that they would take me way too long to write, and then you would get updates maybe only once a week or something. And I'd rather give more updates, but that's just my opinion. :)

**MidNiteFay415: **That's okay, lol. And I like those scenes, too. Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Guest: **Ooh, I love that song! Thanks for the suggestion.

**JACExCLARY: **Nope, not yet! I have it planned out, though.

**Guest: **Alright, I'm glad it wasn't that noticeable – because it was to me, lol, but it's basically your opinion that I want, so…. :)

**Awesomeness: **Yeah, that's why I added that quote in, lol.

**Guest: **"Untouchable" is actually one of my favorite songs. I can't believe I didn't think of it!

**Guest: **I don't think I know that song… but I'll definitely listen to it when I get the chance!

**Guest: **Glad you didn't notice it, because I definitely did. But that's okay, I'm happy you liked it!

**Thedauntlessshadowhunter: **A lot of people have recommend Taylor Swift songs, actually, which I think is kind of funny, because I don't really know a lot of people who really like Taylor Swift, but I love her! t I'm glad my reviewers do too. :)

**Clovethehungergames: **I'm really glad you like it! Any suggestions on what I can do better? Let me know.

**This is very quickly proofread, so sorry for any mistakes in grammar / spelling! And thank you for twenty reviews! Enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty-Six

Every day since he had first met Jacqueline, Finn was feeling as though every word he said to her was either going to freak her out or make him want to punch himself in the face. Sometimes, in instances like these, both of those situations occurred, unfortunately.

God, though, he hadn't been able to keep his eyes off of her — at least, after Eddy stopped crying, that is. No girl he had ever met could even look remotely good in such a simple pair of pajamas, but Jacqueline could, with his screaming little brother in her arms, no less.

Finn just hated seeing her so thin. He knew she was a good Shadowhunter, a great one, actually, but he worried about her, seeing her look so fragile. What Jacqueline ate in three days he could probably eat in one day, and that made him nervous.

And, again, even his _thoughts _about Jacqueline made him want to punch himself in the face. Finn shouldn't be nervous for her or worried about her _at all_. And here he was, trying to get her to eat something like some sort of old, Italian grandmother. He was only her friend, and that was all he would ever be to her — which was absolutely fine. At least, that's what he tried to tell himself.

Besides, Jacqueline obviously didn't have the same thoughts about Finn that he had about her. She had seen him looking at her, and what had she done? Run out of the room, because she knew it was weird and, frankly, creepy for him to be watching her like that.

He had to stop doing that. Whatever he felt for Jacqueline — he didn't want to put a name on it, figuring that labeling his feelings would make them realer than they needed to be — needed to end here. Finn wouldn't look at her in the way he had just been doing anymore, that was for sure.

It would be hard for him, but he knew that was how things should be between them.

For now, anyway.

—•—

Jacqueline wondered how stupid she had to be to have actually forgotten to change out of her pajamas before going downstairs. Taking a long, hard look in the mirror in her bedroom, Jacqueline was mortified by her appearance. Her hair had almost completely fallen out of its bun, which, having earlier been on the near top of her head, and slipped to near the nape of her neck.

And the clothes, which Clary had so kindly bought for her, should not have been worn together. The shorts were too short, and worn with a t-shirt that covered some of her skin, they might have been okay. But paired with the thin fabric of the camisole that showed her thin shoulders and collarbone, she looked very strange.

She was sure that was why Finn had been watching at her, because she had looked so odd. Why else would he have been staring at her? It wasn't like she would look good in _pajamas _— no one did. Well, Kristal and Vanessa might, but definitely not Jacqueline.

She looked in her closet again, searching for something a little more appropriate to wear. A simple, black, long-sleeved shirt with a little detailing around the collar caught her eye, and she put on a pair of jeans to match. They contrasted with her earlier clothing choice, and for that, she was grateful.

Jacqueline didn't want Finn's eyes on her, no matter what the purpose, because that was what she was supposed to be doing now — pushing away all feelings for him. She prayed it would work, because she knew he would never have the same feelings for her that she _might _have for him.

Once again, Jacqueline looked into the mirror. Normally, she wouldn't do this so many times, but she _really _didn't want to embarrass herself for the second time today. So, instead of just tying her hair back quickly into a ponytail as she walked downstairs for dinner, Jacqueline carefully took her time and made sure there weren't too many stray pieces of hair that hadn't managed to be pulled away from her face.

She gazed at her final appearance, and, satisfied that she looked better than before, went back downstairs again.

Of course, with this arose a new problem: should she go back to the infirmary and see if Finn had waited for her, or should she just go to the dining room and eat the takeout Clary had gotten for dinner? Jacqueline didn't really want to think about it — though her head was pulling her towards the smart solution to the problem, her heart was pulling her towards the other.

With conflicting feelings inside of her, Jacqueline just decided to get downstairs to the main hallway again, where both the infirmary and the dining room were located and decide on a whim what she was going to do when she got there. She tried not to focus on her footsteps and direction, so she wouldn't have to choose what to do — instead, on a subconscious level, she would've walked to the place where she wanted to be most.

And, where, you might ask, did she end up? Not surprisingly, Jacqueline found herself near the infirmary door — the place where she thought Finn might've waited for her.

She took a few tentative steps towards the door, wondering if he was even here. Finn probably wasn't going to have hung out in his hospital room for longer than he had to, even if he was supposed to be staying bed for a little while longer, to give him time to heal. Besides, a boy like Finn wouldn't want to be cooped up for such a long period of time, that much she knew.

The stupid thing was that she was still hoping that Finn might've waited for her anyway. If that actually occurred, it would make her somewhat crush on him grow that much stronger. _You got a panic attack today, just from thinking about the possibility of having feelings for him, _Jacqueline reminded herself.

It would suck if she went into the room and found out he wasn't there — but, then again, she had done a lot of stupid things today. Could one more really hurt? So, hoping she wasn't doing the wrong thing, Jacqueline opened the door.

And found an, unfortunately, empty room.

Sighing sadly, she backed out into the hallway again. She knew this was coming, but her preparedness couldn't have made her immune to this painful feeling she had in her stomach. Brushing her feelings of hurt away, she walked to the dining room. Yes, she had known this was going to happen — but it still felt awful, just the same.

It didn't take long to get to the dining room, and once she went inside, she immediately saw Finn, and her feelings of hurt resurfaced. _He's allowed to go and eat something, _she told herself. _He doesn't have to wait for you. He's not _supposed _to wait for you. _

There were only two empty seats at the table left, one near Clary and Jace at the head of the table, and the other next to Finn. Jacqueline, trying to do something _smart _for once (and one that didn't make her feel so unhappy), began walking towards the side that was far away from Finn.

Clary hadn't served out the food from Taki's yet, so everyone was talking amongst themselves in little groups, but Jacqueline still, however, could pick out one voice amidst everyone else's.

"Hey, Jack!" she heard Finn say in his easily recognizable voice.

She turned around, hoping she wouldn't regret it, only to see Finn with a big, friendly smile on his face. He was gesturing to the seat that was beside him and raising his eyebrows in a teasing way that basically said, "What, you're not going to sit here?"

Jacqueline rolled her eyes, the reaction she found herself doing a lot when she was with him. Yeah, she knew she should pretend to have some good reason as to why she couldn't sit next to him — the only one that came to mind was that she might have a crush on him, but she certainly didn't want to say that — but she couldn't resist the smile on his face, and took a seat next to him anyway.

"Hey," she said quietly, all disappointing feelings from his absence from the infirmary room quickly evaporating. "Aren't you supposed to still be resting, after what happened at Pandemonium last night and all?"

"Yup," Finn replied nonchalantly, taking a helping of the vegetables Vanessa had just passed to him.

Jacqueline smiled. Of course he wouldn't want to follow the Silent Brothers' directions. She should've been absolutely sure of that from the beginning, but it pleased her to know that she was getting to know him a little bit better, at least, that she hadn't been entirely surprised. "Guessing you don't really care for 'bed rest' and all of that stuff?" she said.

"You know me well, Jack," said Finn teasingly, tipping his fork towards her. "Got something to tell you, by the way," he added a bit more seriously, taking a bite of his food.

Jacqueline was a little surprised by the sudden switch in his tone, and she wondered what had happened. It was obviously important to him, just by the way he was sitting and acting, but she didn't really know what _could _have happened. Seriously, he'd almost died last night — what else could have gone wrong? "What's up?" she asked.

Finn shook his head. "Nah, I won't tell you now. She might hear me."

"She?" Jacqueline said, her eyes widening. "Oh, crap, are we talking about Kri—"

"Yes, of course I'm talking about Kristal," Finn said, almost in a loud whisper. "But she basically wanted to kill me earlier, so I'd rather _not_ talk about her while she's right across the table from me."

She laughed. "Jeez, you must have really pissed her off, Finn, didn't you?"

"It's my specialty," he said, shrugging.

And it certainly was. That boy really could irritate Jacqueline to no end; whether purposely or inadvertently, it didn't really seem to matter. But, Finn also had a talent of making people smile — or, at least making _her_ smile.

It seemed that he had made her laugh at least three times over the course of the rather uneventful dinner, despite the fact that Taki's had some really good food. It was mostly just that Kristal hadn't caused any real drama at this one, thank goodness, but she couldn't help noticing the way Kristal's eyes kept glancing over at her and Finn, laughing and giggling together over their food.

Whatever had happened between those two today, Jacqueline was almost eager to find out — as long as Kristal didn't, you know, murder her first, because that's seriously what it looked like she wanted to do.

Once dinner was over and everyone was just clearing away their plates, Finn stood up. "Jack, c'mon."

"Come where?" Jacqueline asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I have to show you something," Finn said, smirking. "And you'd better hurry up, 'cause I'm not waiting for you."

Well, he wasn't lying, considering he ran out the door to go… wherever it was he was going. Jacqueline, shaking her head in amazement, followed him right out the door.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Alright, guys, I've got some bad news: I will not have access to a computer from June 23 through June 28, so unless some sort of miracle happens, there will be no updates. I will try to write a little bit, either on my tablet or on my phone, but there's a ninety-nine percent chance that you won't have Chapter Twenty-Seven for awhile. I'm really sorry about that, because I know it sucks to wait on updates.

Now that that's out of the way, tell me what you thought of the chapter! Did you like how Jacqueline and Finn were each thinking the opposite? (Like, how Jacqueline thought she looked "odd" and Finn thought she looked great?) I thought that was adorable.

And where do you think he's going to take her? If you want a hint, think back to City of Bones and all of the places where Jace took Clary.

With that, I'll leave you – comment where you think Finn's taking Jacqueline in a review, please!

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"He was only her friend, and that was all he would ever be to her — which was absolutely fine. At least, that's what he tried to tell himself."

**Again, I apologize for the wait that you'll have on the next chapter! But, please comment where you think Finn and Jacqueline are going. It should be a pretty cute scene. **

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi**


	28. Chapter Twenty-Seven

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hey, guys! Did you miss me? It's been an entire week since I updated! Sorry about that, but I didn't have computer access. I did write about half of this on a plane, which was actually pretty cool. But my plane was delayed, so I didn't get home until super late (like two a.m. or something). I had been planning on writing late on Friday night (say, around eleven or something) but I basically crashed on my bed when I came home, considering how much I needed sleep. I'm not replying to reviews today, because I'm running out of the house and would prefer to update ASAP, but if you have any questions you want answered, PM me or put it in your next review.

A lot of you had similar guesses as to where Finn was taking Jacqueline, but I'm not telling you about it, because you find out right near the end of this chapter – which is extra-long, by the way (two thousand words), because I felt bad about the update wait. It's super cute, though, full of Finline, and the scene will be continued through the next chapter as well.

Hope you enjoy! And I apologize for any grammar errors.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jacqueline's footsteps across the Institute's wooden floor panels seemed relatively slow compared to Finn's quickly-paced ones. He seemed surprisingly eager to show her, well, show her wherever it was he was practically running off to.

"You walk too slowly," he told her, looking back over his shoulder to see Jacqueline lagging far behind him. A mischievous smile was playing across his face, to let Jacqueline know that he was teasing her.

The words struck her, immediately remembering an event that seemed like it had occurred years ago, but in reality, it had only been a few days since she had first met Finn. "Yeah, I know," she said sarcastically, though she was thinking fondly over the memory. "This annoying Shadowhunter guy told me a while ago."

Though she was far behind him still, Jacqueline could see, in the way his muscled back shook slightly and in his overall posture, that Finn was laughing. Turning around, he put a hand over his chest and feigned horror. "I'm insulted, Jack, you know that?"

She smiled, finding it amusing to be the one teasing him for once, instead of the other way around. It was an odd situation for her, to be so comfortable with someone she could just… laugh with.

_No, this is all wrong! _she thought suddenly, being thankful that Finn had already turned around and wouldn't be able to see the expression on her face. _I shouldn't be comfortable with him. Hell, I shouldn't be with him at _all _right now!_

That was what she had decided, that she was going to force away any sort of possible "crush-like feelings" for Finn. It was better for her, considering he'd never like her anyway, and it was better for him, because he was obviously still recovering from his breakup with Kristal.

Besides, Jacqueline didn't want to mess up this easy friendship she had with Finn, and that was reason enough for her to know that she really shouldn't have agreed to go wherever it was he was taking her. This would only encourage more of these "feelings" she was starting to have for him, and it wasn't like _those _were going to go away easily. Lengthening her time with Finn would only be worse for her, in the end — even if it felt like it was a good idea now.

But, he'd looked so happy to be taking her somewhere that, to her, at least, seemed pretty important to him. Did she honestly want to run off from him for the second time today, wiping that contagious smile off of his face as she went? It seemed mean, especially when he wanted to tell her something — something that involved Kristal of all people.

And, of course, there was one more deciding factor, albeit being incredibly predictable and cliché: she wanted to stay with him. She shouldn't, if she knew what was smart and "the right thing to do."

_Alright, this is the last time, _Jacqueline told herself. _I can't have a crush on Finn — but one more time doing this won't hurt. _

Finn's cheerful, playful voice broke her from her worries and thoughts. "Alright, close your eyes, Jack, now that you're done insulting me."

Jacqueline rolled her eyes, but closed them anyway. "Are you seriously going to make me keep my eyes shut?"

"It increases the suspense," she heard Finn say, and Jacqueline could picture him shrugging. She bit down on her lower lip to prevent a laugh from escaping her.

Suddenly, she heard Finn swear under his breath. Jacqueline opened her eyes quickly, wondering what was wrong, and saw him looking disappointedly at his feet and running his hand through his hair. "You okay?" she asked, her voice filled with more concern than it probably should've held.

He looked startled, and Jacqueline imagined he'd been lost in his thoughts for a moment, too. "What? Oh, um, yeah... I'm, uh, fine, don't worry."

Though he'd said not to worry, Jacqueline could tell that Finn hadn't regained his earlier enthusiasm. She raised her eyebrows, hoping the gesture would encourage him not to lie to her again. Just because Jacqueline was a terrible liar didn't mean she couldn't see through one.

Finn's face turned slightly red, and again he ran his fingers through his hair a bit nervously. "I had wanted to, um, lead you there," he admitted.

Jacqueline didn't see anything wrong with that. I mean, sure, it was a little corny, if anything, but there didn't seem to be a problem, to her, anyway. "So?"

He looked more nervous than Jacqueline had ever seen him. Hell, she barely even saw him nervous — not even last night, when he had almost died. Carefully, he said, "I'd need to be able to, um, hold your arm or something, because we have to go upstairs."

Oh.

Well, it was very nice of him to look out for her like that, knowing that she didn't like it when people touched her. But, in all honesty, though she still got nervous about basically everything that involved Finn Herondale, the thought of him having the grab the crook of her elbow or put a hand on her arm to lead her upstairs didn't seem all that bad.

In fact, it actually almost seemed… good.

Jacqueline smiled shyly, saying in a soft, kind tone, "I'll be fine. But thanks for, um, thinking of it."

She could see the relief in his eyes as she spoke, and wondered, for a moment, why he had thought of her at all. Yes, they were friends, but she doubted a sixteen year old boy would actually have remembered that, worried about it, even, especially when that same sixteen year old boy had almost died the previous night.

"I'm going to close my eyes again, 'kay?" Jacqueline said quietly, praying that Finn wouldn't notice the blush she knew was forming on her pale cheeks.

"Sounds good," Finn said, and Jacqueline wished her eyes were open so she could see his expression.

As they walked, Finn gave Jacqueline small instructions, her ice blue eyes still closed. "Watch your footing there," or "Turn to your right" were some of the more frequent ones, and although it was a bit unnerving to be relying solely on someone else's words, this was Finn. She knew she could trust him.

"Just stop for a second," Jacqueline heard Finn say, knowing that he was standing very close to her. "We're at the stairs, so I have to, um…."

"No worries," she told him truthfully. "Just make sure I don't fall."

She heard Finn's easygoing laugh, and hoped that she had eased some of his worries. But, instead of just lightly holding her arm — like they did in those old movies, where the boy would "escort" the girl to a ball or something — Finn did something a bit more unexpected than Jacqueline had thought.

Carefully and deliberately, he took Jacqueline's hand and intertwined it with his own, their fingers almost wrapped together.

She almost wanted to gasp, though not from memories of the orphanage. She hadn't expected him to do _that_, but she had to admit it: she really liked the feeling of her hand in his. Though she had dozens of thoughts running through her head, surprise, surprise — were her palms sweaty, would he notice how bony her wrists were, why was he doing this, why did she like this so much, and things of the like — Jacqueline realized how perfectly their hands fit together.

Alright, maybe not _exactly _perfectly (this wasn't a chick flick, after all), but it was a better fit than she thought, even with the size difference and the unalike shapes of their hands. The funny thing was, though, despite the fact that they had reached the top of the staircase, Finn's hand lingered in its position around her own before he, unfortunately, let go.

But there had definitely been a gap between the time they had reached the top of the stairs and the moment when he released his hands. A _significant _gap, which made Jacqueline a little more than happy, even though she knew it was stupid.

"Alright, we're here," Finn said, Jacqueline's palms still tingling as she heard him open a door. Immediately, she smelled something almost… earthy. They hadn't gone outside, had they? But there was such a clean, outdoorsy scent in the air that she knew they couldn't be outside. No way would Manhattan smell this good.

"Open your eyes, Jack," Finn whispered, his low tone making Jacqueline's heart beat faster.

She blinked a few times, trying to get her bearings, and realized where they were: a greenhouse.

—•—

About two years ago, when Finn had been fourteen, his mom had asked him to go find Chris. He didn't remember what his mom had needed Chris for, but it was something relatively insignificant. His mom had been in a particularly bad mood that day, for some reason or other, however, so Finn had complied with his mother's wishes so she wouldn't, you know, scream at him.

So, he'd gone to Chris's bedroom, where the kid usually was, but, for a reason that he hadn't known yet, Chris hadn't been there. Finn had checked the library — his other usual spot, a book usually in his hand — but he hadn't been there either. He knew if he didn't find the kid soon, his mother was going to be angry at the both of them, so he started looking in any room to see if he was there — the training room, the dining room, Isaac's bedroom.

Finally, just as beginning to give up and risk his mother's anger, he heard Chris's voice… in Lizzie's room, of all places. The door was slightly ajar, enough so that he could see but not be seen, and watched as Chris read out of a children's storybook to Lizzie.

Nowadays, everyone knew that Lizzie and Chris had a special friendship and "brother-sister" relationship — but Lizzie was only two years old back then, and no one had even seen the two interact with each other. But, as Finn watched Chris read to his little sister, he saw them both smiling and laughing over the words of the book.

It was the happiest and most relaxed Finn had seen Chris in a long time.

Still, he knew that the kid wouldn't be all that happy if his mom had come to yell at them both, so he awkwardly broke up their moment and asked Chris to come downstairs with him.

The strange thing was, though, that Chris immediately had jumped away from Lizzie, like it wasn't "cool" for a nine year old to be reading to a little girl. Chris had realized, later on, that it was okay for him to be friends with Lizzie and that no one would make fun of him or anything — but he'd been pretty freaked out at the time.

It had started Finn thinking, as he had seen Chris and Lizzie walking together right after Jacqueline had gone upstairs to change her clothes. If someone thought they weren't being watched, they would act differently than they would normally, when other people were watching.

That was why he had asked Jacqueline to close her eyes a few moments ago, having planned it all out ever since he'd left the infirmary and gone to the dining room for dinner. He'd mostly just planned on watching her expression as he took her arm or something and led her up the stairs — if she'd allowed him to do that, of course, considering he hadn't been entirely sure of that crucial part of his "plan" to figure out if she liked it when he flirted with her.

But, realizing he could've taken her hand instead, that's what Finn did, even if he was incredibly nervous about it.

And, the best thing of all, was that she'd obviously been pleased about it, considering the way she'd had such a small, pretty smile the whole time when their hands had been entwined together. He'd liked it, too.

His plan, Finn knew, had worked: Jacqueline liked it when he flirted with her.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I wasn't planning on adding that Chris / Lizzie flashback until about half an hour ago, right as I was going, "Crap. What else can I add to this chapter?" But, anyways, did you like it? I liked the way I had Finn have a "plan" and the way he got so nervous. Can anyone else picture Finn blushing? Because I can picture it every once in a while and it's really cute.

Remember, review please! I would love to get ten or so reviews, maybe more, to celebrate summer vacation! I'm hoping to have AGL end sometime in August or so, but don't worry – I still have lots of stuff to write about, including tons of plot twists. :)

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"Carefully and deliberately, he took Jacqueline's hand and intertwined it with his own, their fingers almost wrapped together. "

**I hope you liked this chapter! Review, review, review! No sugar-coating, please.**

**Have a great weekend!**

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi **


	29. Chapter Twenty-Eight

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I'm sure you're all mad at me for the wait on this update – over five days, I apologize – but I almost wrote three thousand words in this chapter, so that's basically why it wasn't up earlier. I had a lot of ideas, and I really liked what I was writing, so I decided to just combine it into one, super-long chapter. I don't think this will become a habit, but I really did like this chapter – and I hope you do, too!

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**BonyHerondale****: **You'll just have to wait and find out! :)

**XxGiRlOnFiRexX****: **Thank you so much for your long review! I really appreciate it, especially the compliment on my writing. I don't think it's like an actual book, but thanks anyway. And I will definitely be adding more scenes with my secondary characters, probably in the next chapter. I have a few more ideas with Chris, Lizzie, and Isaac, along with my Tony / Vanessa ones. I just wanted to focus on Finline for a little while. :)

**DauntlessShadowhunter479****:** I can't tell you anything about any sort of first kisses, yet, but I'm glad you like Finn blushing – I certainly do.

**thedauntlessshadowhunter****: **There are tons of Clace scenes, don't worry about it. I wasn't sure what anyone would think, lol, but I'm actually sort of glad you were surprised, if that makes any sense. I think it will make this chapter that much better for you, then.

**Lily1111****: **He's described two chapters after the Prologue, when Jacqueline sings "Hey There Delilah".

**Kayte and Ranqu: **I definitely understand what you mean when you say it's going slowly. I try to go more slowly because if I speed it up a little bit, then my pacing gets all messed up and I go too fast with characterization and stuff. I actually had to rewrite that chapter where Tony and Jacqueline first see each other again – like Chapter Twenty or something – because it was moving too quickly. I tend to "underdo" rather than "overdo", just to be careful. But thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you like AGL!

**Meltedmarshmallowsontoast****: **Well, luckily enough for you, ;), there's another Kristal / Jacqueline scene at the end of this chapter.

**EJ26****: **Thank you so much for the idea! I'll definitely think about adding it to another chapter – not this one, yet, because I planned it all out already, but it's a really good idea, so I'm sure I'll add it in somewhere. :)

**Awesomeness: **I think I did a week and two days once at the beginning of AGL, around Chapter Four or so, but I hope you understand why I didn't update from my Author's Note. I'm glad to see people wanting AGL updated, though, because that means you like it! YAY! :)

**I hope you enjoy my extremely chapter! Remember to review!**

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Finn's mother and father had some sort of special connection to the greenhouse, he'd noticed, because whenever Finn mentioned it, his parents would kind of smile at each other and give each other this _look _that he couldn't describe. Something had obviously happened there between the two of them. But, in all honesty, he didn't want to think about it — it was really weird to think of his parents as being teenagers.

Jacqueline's blue eyes were darting around the greenhouse, and Finn couldn't help but smile at her and the way she could be so… so amazed by the flowers and other plants that were growing. He'd always liked it, as had his father, but she seemed even more entranced by everything than he was.

"Everything's so beautiful," Jacqueline whispered, taking her hand and reaching over to touch one of the brightly colored, orange flowers.

He liked seeing her so happy like this. It seemed that there had been so much going on lately, with Kristal and Pandemonium and all, that there wasn't a lot of time to just relax like they were doing now. "I'm glad you like it, Jack."

Jacqueline didn't appear to have heard him, being too caught up in smelling one of the blue lilies that were usually only found in Idris. "I don't think I've ever seen this many flowers all together in my whole life," she said softly as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

Finn was curious; though living in a densely-populated city, he'd still seen things like this before. "Really?"

Jacqueline smiled a smile that Finn hadn't seen on her much before— a nostalgic smile. "Not really," she said, and laughed a little. "I mean, when I was still at the orphanage, Tony had this tiny, purple flower — which I later found out was probably a weed — that he'd always used to water because it was right outside his window. I never actually saw it until I was sick one day and he gave it to me, so that was basically the extent of flower-growing in my life. And I didn't even grow the flowers."

Though Finn laughed, the insides of his stomach clenched. He hated the way she said Tony's name, and wondered, for a brief moment, if something had ever happened between Jacqueline and Tony when they were both at the orphanage. _Of course not, idiot, _he berated himself. _They were little kids. _

But now? Could something happen between Tony and Jacqueline now that they were older?

Jacqueline's voice brought him back to reality, and he watched her as she _ooh-_ed and _ahh_-ed over the other kinds of flowers and plants that filled the humid, warm room. Though Finn wasn't quite as knowledgeable in botany like his father was, he could still tell Jacqueline little bits of information about the plants that made him seem a bit more familiar with the topic than he really was.

After about half an hour of wandering around the different areas of the greenhouse, Jacqueline asked Finn teasingly, "So when are you going to tell me what happened with you and Kristal?"

"Oh, right." Finn had almost forgotten about that, even if it was the real reason why he wanted to have taken her up to the greenhouse. He did not doubt Kristal would show up there — nor would anyone else, for that matter — so it would be more private than usual. "Kristal, um, broke up with Raphael."

If Jacqueline had been a character in a cartoon, her jaw would've dropped, judging by the surprised expression on her face. "_What? _No way!"

"Yeah," Finn said, running a hand through his hair like he always did when he was feeling annoyed. "She basically asked me out again, too."

This time, Jacqueline's mouth did open in surprise, and she covered it delicately with the palm of her hand. "Well, what did you say?"

She almost sounded surprised. The fact that Kristal had asked him out was surprising, but his answer? That wasn't surprising at all, was it? "Isn't it obvious?" Finn said, smirking. "No, of course."

Jacqueline exhaled in relief. "Oh, okay," she replied. "Good."

Finn, for the second time in a few seconds, smirked again. "Jealous, Jack?"

_I really have to stop doing this, teasing her and all, _Finn thought, watching Jacqueline's shocked face with a bit of amusement, though feeling a bit guilty as well. "No, of course not," she said calmly, and for once, Finn couldn't tell if she was lying or not. "I'm just glad you're not giving Kristal the opportunity for her to hurt you again."

"Me too," Finn murmured, taking a seat on the greenhouse's floor and looking up through the clear ceiling at the stars above him. After Jacqueline sat down beside him, he continued, saying, "I never thought I would even have to _think _about Kristal hurting me, you know? Back when we were still together, I mean. She just wasn't that type. That's what I thought, at least."

"Well, judging from what you've told me," Jacqueline said, tilting her head up towards the ceiling, "I don't think anyone would've known."

Finn leaned back slightly, propping himself up on the palms of his hands as he sat. "It just makes me wonder…."

Jacqueline's voice was kind and curious as she asked, "Makes you wonder what?"

In a low voice, Finn almost breathed out the words, "It makes me wonder why she did it." Jacqueline hadn't responded, so he spoke again. "When I think it over, things don't really add up, you know?"

She stayed quiet, her eyes focused on a flower that wasn't anywhere near Finn's line of vision. It almost seemed as if she was trying not to look at him, though her blue eyes were strained, leaving Finn wondering what was going through her mind. "Finn," she said, after a moment of silence that seemed to have taken hours, "there might not have _been _a reason."

"What are you talking about?" Finn asked, confused.

Jacqueline pursed her lips together thoughtfully. "I'm just saying… Kristal isn't a good person, Finn. She could've just done it out of spite, when she cheated on you, or she might not have thought of you at all. There might not have been a real goal to get out of it — she just did it."

Now it was Finn's turn to be surprised, and he felt anger course through him because of what Jacqueline had said. "You're saying she never loved me at all, she just did it?" he said angrily, his eyes locking on hers. "Just cheated on me, without any thought at all?"

Jacqueline's blue eyes widened, and Finn knew he saw her move away from him. "No, no, Finn, that's not what I meant, I just—"

"Well, that's what it freakin' sounded like, Jacqueline!" Finn shouted. "I _loved _her, so don't talk about her like that!"

The words hung between them, and Finn realized two things: one of them was that it was the first time he'd ever yelled at Jacqueline and the second being that it was the first time he'd ever called her "Jacqueline" and not "Jack".

But then Finn realized how scared she looked. Her hands were shaking, her eyes were terrified, and she was already standing up, her back pressed against up one of the few empty spaces on the greenhouse wall, about as far away from him as she could be without leaving the room.

She looked petrified.

_I did this to her, _he thought, his heart pounding in his chest. _Oh, God, I did this to her. _

"Don't ever talk to me like that ever again, Finn," Jacqueline said, her voice deathly cold. Her hands were still shaking, even though she had them partially hidden behind her back. "I've had enough people screaming at me at the freakin' orphanage, and I don't need people here doing it to me either."

"Jack," Finn whispered brokenly, pain seeping through his every word. "Jack, I'm so sorry, you've got to believe me."

"I have to go, Finn," she said with finality, and began walking towards the greenhouse door. She didn't turn back towards him.

"No, wait!" he said, immediately jumping up from his spot on the ground and jogging to catch up to her, ignoring a sudden pain he had just gotten in his side.

If he hadn't done what he had just did, Finn might've grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, so he could face her. But, instead, he let his hand fall down to his side, hoping Jacqueline would know how sorry he was. "Jack, it won't happen again, I promise."

"You just don't get it, Finn," she murmured. A piece of almost-white hair had fallen into her face, and Finn was resisting the urge to brush it away. Tears welled up in her eyes, and in that moment, Finn hated himself more than ever. "God, Finn, I thought you were going to hit me or something," Jacqueline whispered. "It was awful, being there in the orphanage, and here I was, alone with you in a room far away from everyone else, and you were… you were screaming at me. You can't… You can't even imagine the memories I had going through my head."

"I know I can't," he replied in the same broken manner as before. "And I never will. But I'll never hurt you, ever. I swear I can promise that."

"How can I know that, though?" Jacqueline asked, blinking back a tear.

Finn took her right hand gently, his fingers barely brushing hers. "You'll have to trust me on it."

The two teenagers were incredibly close together now, only a mere two inches or so, and Finn thought to himself, _I'm going to kiss her_. Jacqueline stood up on her toes to reach Finn's lips, but they each hadn't closed their eyes completely yet.

Suddenly, Jacqueline pulled away before their lips touched, and she pointed to Finn's side — the side where he had gotten injured when they were at Pandemonium the previous night. "Finn, you're bleeding," she said, worry filling her voice.

Finn looked down, and saw blood leaking onto his t-shirt. _Now? _he thought. _Right when I was going to kiss her? Goddamn it. _"There's nothing to worry about," he said quickly. "I'll be fine. The Silent Brothers told me that the wound could open up again, but since the poison was gone, there wasn't much to worry about, as long as I _iratzed _it quickly."

Jacqueline still looked nervous — how she could be nervous for him when he'd frightened her so badly before was beyond him — and said, "You need to go back to the infirmary. Because you were up on your feet and all and you weren't supposed to. I bet that's why you're bleeding."

"You're probably right," Finn said, barely noticing the pain he was feeling on his side, though he pulled the edge of his shirt halfway up his stomach carefully, hoping not to aggravate the deep cut. "Don't look, okay, Jack? I mean, because of the blood and all."

Jacqueline did avert her eyes, and Finn quickly removed the bandages that weren't working as well as he wanted them to. Grabbing his stele from his pocket, he drew the _iratze _with a practiced hand, watching as the Rune healed him, feeling the slight burning sensation that he usually barely noticed. But now, with the past few events that had just transpired between Jacqueline and him, all of his senses were more aware than ever about his surroundings.

"Walk downstairs with me?" Finn asked, hoping that if she accepted, they would go back to normal — not that he didn't want to kiss her again, of course, but more so regarding their argument.

After another period of silence that seemed as if it had taken hours, Jacqueline nodded. "Yeah, of course."

—•—

After awaking a disgruntled Clary and exiting the infirmary that Finn seemed to be spending a lot of time in lately, Jacqueline couldn't help but feel a growing pit in her stomach. They had almost kissed — "almost" being the key word in that statement. And they had almost kissed the night before, too! She almost wanted to take back her thoughts about Finn, thinking he'd never like her like _that_. Hell, she wasn't even sure if she liked him like that, although she must have more feelings than she realized, you know, with the whole "two almost kisses in the span of twenty-four hours" thing.

But then there was the manner of their argument. She didn't remember having ever been so scared in her entire life, not even with Mrs. Ferrival. Mrs. Ferrival had never been kind to her, and while it was awful to have been treated like Jacqueline had by her, it wasn't much of a surprise. Seeing Finn so angry, though, the Finn who had always been so compassionate and kind and sad, about the way she had talked about _Kristal_, the girl he claimed he didn't care about….

She thought, for a moment, that he was going to throw her against the wall. The feeling had gone away almost as quickly as it had come, seeing Finn's expression of self-loathing that had been etched across every feature of his handsome face only a moment after he had spoken. Jacqueline blamed her fear on the panic attack she'd had earlier, thinking it had put her on edge all night.

And, after seeing how far away Finn had been from her as they had walked to the infirmary, Jacqueline knew that Finn had hated himself for yelling at her. If he ever, somehow, did hit her, though, Jacqueline knew she'd run away again, far, far away from the Institute and far, far away from him.

All of this normally would have made her think they were only friends. But if he had almost kissed her, didn't that change things? It had to change things… right?

Jacqueline sighed, wishing for once that something in her life could be less complicated than it actually was. She wondered if she should talk to someone about it, but her only option was basically Vanessa, and she didn't really know how well Vanessa could keep a secret. It's not like she wanted to test the theory, either.

That left her on her own, then, alone entirely with her confusing thoughts. In past instances, that hadn't really worked out all too well in Jacqueline's favor, but it was the best she could do — for now, anyway.

As it turned out, however, she wasn't completely by herself, as Jacqueline could hear light footsteps down in the hallway behind her. _Who could actually be awake this late at night? _Jacqueline wondered. Yes, Clary had to be — she was a mom, after all, and Finn had just reopened his wound — but who else?

The question was answered when Jacqueline came face-to-face with the one girl she disliked most at the Institute: Kristal. Again, she was struck by how pretty Kristal was, and felt her low self-esteem drop down even lower than it already was. If something ever happened between Finn and her, she wouldn't ever really be able to compare — looks wise, anyway.

Kristal tucked a piece of blond hair behind her ear, managing to look pleasantly surprised, though Jacqueline noticed the way her eyebrows were slightly creased together, knowing that Kristal wasn't as pleased to see her as she was pretending. "Jacqueline?" Kristal said. "What are you doing awake?"

Jacqueline, of course, knew she wouldn't be able to lie all that well to Kristal, but it couldn't hurt to make an effort. "Eh, you know, I took a nap this afternoon and I knew I wasn't going to be able to, um, fall asleep all that easily, so I decided to stay awake for a little while."

Kristal smiled, and Jacqueline was convinced by her little charade of their being friends for a moment or so. There were times, it seemed, where Kristal could be a fantastic actress — and then she could just lose it altogether.

It made Jacqueline wonder what was really going through her mind, but she brushed away the thought when Kristal rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, c'mon, Jacqueline. I'm not an idiot. I just heard the infirmary door close, and it's pretty late. Were you and Finn, you know…" She trailed off, a girlish smirk playing across her lips and her eyebrows raised.

It took a moment for Jacqueline to understand what Kristal meant, and when she did, she stammered, saying, "N-no! I-I mean, you know, I was with him, but not, you know, _with _him, with him." She paused, trying to take a breath and not sound like a complete idiot. "We're not even dating, Kristal. And I was definitely _not _with him like you think. At all."

"So what _were_ you doing with him, then?" Kristal continued. If you didn't know her as well as Jacqueline did, you might believe Kristal was just acting as a best friend, teasing and asking all sorts of questions about Finn — but Jacqueline knew better. Kristal had some sort of plan, although whatever it was, Jacqueline had no idea.

_Might as well stick with the truth this time, _Jacqueline thought. _Or some of the truth, anyway._ "He was showing me the greenhouse, you know, the Idrisian flowers and stuff? I don't know if you've ever seen them, but—"

"Have I ever seen them?" Kristal interrupted, laughing coldly. "Don't think that you're so special, Jacqueline. Right before we started dating, Finn took me to see the greenhouse, too."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Alright, I did a really rushed proofreading again. Sorry, I'm feeling kind of lazy. But, anyways, yes, I did it again! Another almost-kiss! I felt really sad when I was writing that argument between them, but I did think it was one of my favorite scenes to write. And the somewhat cliffhanger with Kristal was pretty cool, I think, too.

So, please, please review! This chapter is almost three thousand words, so I would love maybe twenty or so reviews on this chapter. Let me know about absolutely anything you remembered, whether it was bad or good! If you have any special things to add about the Finline argument, please let me know!

Another Note: I will not be having Finn hurt Jacqueline at all, EVER. I mean, not physically – there will be drama and stuff, but there will be NO instances where Finn hits Jacqueline. It was just meant to bring up Jacqueline's bad memories and all of that stuff.

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"The two teenagers were incredibly close together now, only a mere two inches or so, and Finn thought to himself, _I'm going to kiss her_."

**Remember to review, and have a great Fourth of July if you live in the US! **

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi **


	30. Chapter Twenty-Nine

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Once again, I apologize for the wait on this chapter. I've been volunteering at a day camp – with three and four year olds – all week, so whenever I'm home, I'm basically reading or doing something relaxing that does not involve little kids. I love them all, of course, and they're really not that bad, but it's just much more draining than I would've imagined. I can't promise that updates will be as quick as they used to be, because, somehow, I had more time during school to write than I do now. Which is very weird, but hopefully my schedule will become a bit more "set in stone" in the coming weeks.

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS:**

**Luvmusic87: **I know, I know – but I have the first kiss planned out, and it will be very good. At least, I think it will be. :)

**Thedauntlessshadowhunter: **Your review actually made me laugh out loud! I want to slap her sometimes, too – and I'm sure you'll want to by the end of this chapter as well.

**Arocksprpl2: **I almost didn't want to write it, hahaha, just because I figured it would cause some drama. But this whole fanfic is full of drama, so… :)

**Catia Rose: **She doesn't slap her, but there will definitely be more Jacqueline / Kristal drama, I promise. And no, Kristal's not kidding.

**Booklover1598: **Your reviews always make me laugh. :D And I'm glad you liked it.

**BaskinxxRobins: **Sorry about the update wait. Let me know if there's anything I can improve, please. :)

**DauntlessShadowhunter479: **Boys are idiots, sometimes (as are girls, of course), so that's why I had Finn bring up Kristal. I'm sorry that I didn't have them kiss, but I knew from the very beginning – when I picked "Romance" and "Drama" as the genres for this fanfic – that I was going to have tons of dramatic scenes that. And the reason I don't have them say the f-word is because I'm not comfortable using it in writing, as I'm only fourteen. I also have some people I know reading this fanfic – see one of the reviews below – and I'd rather them not see me cursing all the time when I write.

**Isabella India: **It's not as good as an actual book, but thanks so much for the compliment. Your review was one of my favorites. :)

**Guest: **Oh my goodness, your review was so nice! I'm really glad you like it. (Hope you didn't get in trouble for reading at 4 am, either.) And yes, I brought Isaac up at the end of this chapter, and Tony should be back in the next one. I just wanted to stretch out the Finline scene. Oh, and I definitely understand what you mean when you say you don't like Kristal, but you like her character. I have a couple of major plot twists coming up that involve her… ;)

**BonyHerondale: **Yup, it definitely was. Let me know if there's anything I can improve.

**Meltedmarshmallowsontoast:** There will definitely be more bitchiness in this chapter, trust me. And I'm glad you didn't see any mistakes – tell me if you do on this one.

**Awesomeness: **I have mental fights with my characters too, no worries. :)

**Reading Addicted: **Aww, thanks so much! Glad you liked it.

**Guest: **I like new chapters, too! Let me know if there's ever anything I can improve.

**Katerina Herondale: **It was my favorite, too.

**Natalia: **NATALIA, YOU REVIEWED! Anyways, for those of you who don't know, this is one of my best friends whose name is, obviously, Natalia, and yes, I do know her in real life. We'll be seeing CoB together in the theaters, hopefully at the midnight premiere. :D

**Guest: **Wow! This legitimately made my day! I'm really glad you like AGL, and I'd love to make it as an author… someday, anyway. I have a couple of ideas for non-TMI-related stuff. PM me if you want to know more.

**Thanks for all the reviews! Enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jacqueline's eyes widened, and although she tried to keep both the surprise and anger out of her voice, her attempt was futile. "Well, that's… great," she responded lamely, biting down on her lower lip.

Kristal smirked, running a hand through her long hair, as if that had been the exact reaction she'd wanted. "Look, Jacqueline," she said, touching Jacqueline's arm gently, her voice full of what could be considered sweetness and concern, had Jacqueline not known her better. "I'm just trying to warn you, okay?"

"Warn me of what?" Jacqueline said exasperatedly, sighing. She hated talking to Kristal, but now, with her little "announcement" that basically made Jacqueline feel like complete crap, it was getting harder and harder for her to keep her temper.

"Finn's, you know, dated a _lot _of girls, believe me," Kristal said, moving farther away from the infirmary door as she spoke. Jacqueline assumed that she probably hadn't wanted Finn to hear her rude words.

Jacqueline, again fighting to keep her temper, crossed her arms. "Excuse me?"

Kristal rolled her eyes. "Jeez, Jacqueline, you don't catch on all that quickly, do you? You're not the only girl Finn has taken up there — obviously there was me, and Vanessa's cousin, oh, and one of his aunt's friend's daughters, that girl who was visiting from Idris…."

"You're... you're making this up," Jacqueline said tightly, her teeth clenched. "You're just mad because Finn wouldn't take you back, and _you_ thought he would've, so you're taking it out on me."

Kristal's eyes flashed with anger, and though she tried to blink and force it away, Jacqueline could see that she wasn't as calm as she appeared to be. "You're talking about that little charity case I tried out this morning? Oh, God, Jacqueline. He was all depressed from me breaking up with him, so I was _trying _to help him out. I was bored. It's _his_ fault he didn't take it."

"Because you cheated on him! _That's _why he didn't take it!" Jacqueline said, growing louder and louder by the second. "He saw something in you — something that I will never, ever understand — that made him love you! And what did you do? Oh, that's right — you threw it back in his face, like you never cared for him at all."

"I did care for him," Kristal murmured, staring somewhere off into space and not meeting Jacqueline's eyes.

"Then _why_, pray tell, did you ever cheat on him in the first place?" Jacqueline said, almost shouting. She struggled to keep her voice down, and the thought of Finn in one of the rooms down the hallway, possibly hearing her and Kristal's conversation, was the only thing that prevented her from yelling.

"Well, why, 'pray tell'," Kristal replied mockingly, sounding normally again, "do you care so much?"

Jacqueline felt her heart beat more quickly in her chest, and although she knew the answer to Kristal's question, there was no way she was going to say it out loud. "We're friends," she lied, hoping that the lie wouldn't show in those two tiny words.

But apparently it had. "Yeah, definitely," Kristal said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Look, I'm not going to talk about this anymore with you, but now you know, at least."

She started to walk down the hallway, going the same way as she had come, and Jacqueline sighed. "Yeah," she murmured. "Now I know."

—•—

Jacqueline curled herself up on her bed, bringing her knees up to her chest as she lay on the comfortable sheets. She had changed quickly upon arriving in her room, hoping that the awful argument she had just had with Kristal would go away.

Had Kristal been lying when she said that tons of other girls had gone up to the greenhouse? Was this, like, Finn's thing or something? To kiss a girl (or almost kiss, at least in Jacqueline's case) and then string them along in some sort of pathetic relationship? _Well, he did love Kristal, _she reminded herself. _That much he made perfectly clear; there's no way he was lying about that. _

But still… Maybe he was just telling Jacqueline this sad story about him, so he'd look brokenhearted and she would get a crush on him. Thus, by doing this, her name was being added to the long list of girls who had dated Finn Herondale.

She wanted to think that Finn was a good guy, that he was telling the truth. But whether it was because he had been so angry at her earlier in the greenhouse or because Kristal's words seemed completely fixated in her mind, Jacqueline couldn't help but doubt the "good guy" image of Finn to which she had grown accustomed.

Was she just another girl to him? Not that Jacqueline needed to be the most important girl all the time — she'd like to think she wasn't that shallow and vain, not like Kristal — but she'd basically been treated like she was absolutely worthless when she was at the orphanage. To be treated like that again… The thought of it was awful.

Jacqueline squeezed her eyes shut, as if she could somehow force away the pain and the memories that seemed to be welling up inside of her again. She _hated _this, all these feelings that were wrapped up in her mind.

She was tempted to run away, leaving all this behind her. She had lived without knowing she was a Shadowhunter before, right? And in a few years she'd be eighteen. She could do something more with her life then, something other than playing her guitar — she _had _to.

But Jacqueline had already run away before, and running away meant being unable to face her problems. She was stronger now, a much different girl than the thirteen year old who had run away from Westdell Orphanage.

Jacqueline remembered reading something once, where one of the main characters had mentioned how, every so often, she would cry — not from sadness, but almost from frustration. She had been young at the time, but, even so, still hadn't understood it.

Tonight, as Jacqueline felt the pressure of feelings and memories and pain come upon her, she finally understood what that character had been talking about. She was frustrated with herself for feeling this way, frustrated with Finn, frustrated with Kristal… Frustrated about everything, it felt like.

And so, as Jacqueline tried to fall asleep that night, tears rolled down her cheeks and landed softly on the mattress beneath her.

—•—

Per his mother's request, Finn was lying down on the uncomfortable infirmary bed, trying to "get some rest", as she had put it. He knew that it was going to take some time for him to be able to fall asleep, even if it was getting pretty late, considering he wouldn't be able to go to his balcony tonight. He could probably sneak out of here pretty easily, but he would feel bad stressing his mother out for what felt like the thousandth time this week.

So, lying on his back, Finn stared up at the ceiling, shadows from the various cars and streetlights outside dancing across the walls. He'd been so _close_ to kissing Jacqueline, and the fact that he'd been that close made him more disappointed than it should've. It was a stupid idea, to have made her so angry by such an incredibly idiotic mistake of his own and then to try and kiss her. The one thought that was nagging in his mind, however, was this:

_Would she have kissed him back?_

Suddenly, interrupting his thoughts, he heard two short knocks on the infirmary door. Thinking it was his mother with some sort of last-minute instruction or advice on how to heal more quickly, Finn quietly said, "Come in."

To his surprise, though, it wasn't his mom, or even Jacqueline. It was Isaac, standing in the doorway. "Finn?" he asked, leaning against the frame of the door. "You okay?"

Finn tried to prop himself up on his elbows, hoping to see Isaac a little more easily. "Yeah, yeah, I'm… fine."

Isaac shrugged, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Just heard some noises from my room. And after last night, I wanted to make sure everything was, you know, okay."

This didn't surprise Finn; being such a good Shadowhunter (he was supposed to be receiving his first Marks soon, even though he was only eleven), Isaac had been working on improving his ability to hear, even hearing things that were occurring a floor beneath him. "The cut I got last night wasn't fully healed, so it opened up again. No big deal."

Being the honest and impulsive Isaac Finn had known for eleven years now, Isaac bluntly asked, "Look, that's not really the reason I came up here. I mean, sort of, but I've kind of been wondering what's been up with you and Jacqueline."

Finn smiled. "Got a crush on her, Isaac?" he teased, laughing quietly.

Even through the darkness, Finn could see Isaac roll his eyes. "Not me. _You _might, though."

Well. Finn hadn't been expecting _that_ to come up in conversation. Even if it was involving Isaac.

"Where did you come up with that idea?" Finn said smoothly, not a trace of discomfort in his voice, being grateful that he wasn't as awful of a liar as Jacqueline was.

Isaac took a few steps nearer to him, lowering his voice. "Don't take this the wrong way, Finn, but you acted a lot like this when you first started dating Kristal. And I just don't want to see you setting yourself up again to be, you know, hurt."

"Isaac, what are you talking—"

"I just wanted to let you know, alright?" Isaac interrupted, making his way back towards the door. "To… to put it in your head. You know what I'm saying?"

Reclining back on his mattress, Finn groaned. "Yeah, I got it."

"It sucked to watch you like that, Finn, the way you were after you and Kristal broke up," Isaac said more quietly. "I don't want you to have to go through that again, and with a girl who's living here? It'll be that much worse, when you're seeing her every day after a break-up."

"Kid, this is really not your business," Finn said, shaking his head.

Isaac grinned. "'Course it's not. But when has that ever stopped me?" And with that, Isaac slipped out the door.

Finn fell asleep shortly after that, Isaac's warning about Jacqueline being the last thing he thought of before he fell asleep. Who knew an eleven year old could be that smart?

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **If you couldn't tell, I had severe writer's block on this chapter. It was really good during the Jacqueline / Kristal argument, I thought, but I didn't _love _Jacqueline's little bit afterwards. The Isaac thing was okay. It was fun to get to do some of his dialogue.

Anyways, review, please! Let me know about things you hated or loved, people you hated or loved, dialogue you hated or love, and all the other stuff like that.

Any favorite quotes from this chapter? Let me know in a review!

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"The one thought that was nagging in his mind, however, was this: _Would she have kissed him back?"_

**Remember to review, guys! And just an FYI, I'm feeling a bit uninspired for the next chapter at the moment, so updates might take a little while. **

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi **


	31. Chapter Thirty

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **It didn't take me a week to update! I'm actually very proud of myself at the moment. I think this chapter is actually pretty good. There's a bit with Finn at the end that's _so _sweet, and I just love it. And, just a fair warning, this is the part of the story where everything is going to get pretty dramatic. I mean, yeah, there's going to be some filler chapters, but this is when some Tony / Jacqueline / Finn drama starts to come into play. Oh, and please read the Author's Note at the end if you usually don't. Thanks.

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

** .9674: **Your reply got cut off on my computer, but I'm really glad you're enjoying the story. It means a lot to know that people like it.

**Luvmusic87: **It's going to be incredibly heart wrenching at the end, I assure you of that.

**Booklover1598: **That will not be the last of the doubting each other, hahaha, but you'll just have to read and find out what happens next.

**DoodleMistress: **It's happily irritating, though, at least for me. But thanks so much. :)

**DauntlessShadowhunter479: **Aww, thanks so much! And I promise Jacqueline will be playing the guitar soon, I promise. (It's actually a HUGE part of Finline drama, and it adds Kristal to the mix.) I couldn't use your ideas in this chapter, but the ending you should like.

**ZODO: **It seems to have gone away at the moment, lol, but I'm trying to update more quickly. Sorry for the wait.

**Guest: **I actually tried that! Thanks so much; it seemed to have worked!

**Arocksprpl2: **Your reviews are always hilarious. :D

**Oilbhe Wren: **Oh, thanks so much! And, yes, I want them to kiss, too – but it's going to be really good, I promise. When it, you know, actually freaking HAPPENS.

**Guest: **Awesome! I was a little nervous to see if people would like him or not, but I'm glad you did.

**BaskinxxRobins: **Just read the ending… It's sort of like what your review said, but not exactly.

**Awesomeness: **I think we should feed her to demons. A really, really bad one, like a Greater Demon. Ooh, that might be fun. :D

**ReadingAddicted: **I really do need to do something about Kristal, because she's going to get worse, lol.

**Natalia: **NATALIA, YOU REVIEWD AGAIN! I updated, by the way. XD

**Thedauntlessshadowhunter: **I like thinking of Isaac as a ninja. It makes me laugh, lol. :)

**Guest: **Ooh, I love Taylor Swift! And I listened to the song, and it's really good. Thanks for the suggestion – Jacqueline might even sing it, if I have anything to say about it.

Chapter Thirty

Jacqueline was in the kitchen early the next morning, dressed in her training outfit. She'd been careful, when walking past the door to the infirmary where Finn was sleeping, to stay quiet. Having not been sure who was going to train her today — or if she was going to be training at all, for that matter — Jacqueline had worn her black gear as a precaution, just in case someone did want her practicing.

She scanned the kitchen's pantry, wanting to grab something small to eat before heading over to the training room to see if anyone was there. After pulling an apple-cinnamon granola bar off of one of the shelves — something she'd only just tried at breakfast a few days earlier, but found it to be one of her new favorite foods — Jacqueline tore off of the paper carefully, not wanting any crumbs to fall onto the floor.

"Damn it," she muttered, now holding the wrapper from the granola bar. She had thrown out the wrapper the last time she'd eaten it, but now, with all the events that had transpired yesterday, Jacqueline had already forgotten where the garbage can was. Though she was tempted to just leave it on the table, she would feel bad about just having her garbage lying around.

Jacqueline walked around the room, looking in each corner to see where the garbage can was. God, how could she have just forgotten? _Because you were hanging out with your crush, whom you embarrassed yourself in front of, _Jacqueline reminded herself, grimacing slightly. _And, then, you got incredibly mad at said crush. And to top it all off, then you almost kissed him, all in the span of twenty-four hours. _

A sudden voice coming from behind her made Jacqueline turn around quickly, and she faced the boy in front of her. "Looking for something?" Tony asked kindly, tilting his head slightly.

Jacqueline blushed, both from what Tony had said and from the fact that she'd almost thought it was Finn when she heard Tony's voice. She tried, however, to push away any thoughts about the latter. "Um, yeah," Jacqueline said, holding up the wrapper. "You know where the, uh, garbage can is?"

Tony reached over and took the wrapper from her hand — Jacqueline silently being thankful that their fingers hadn't brushed — and almost… confidently walked over to a cabinet underneath the sink where Jacqueline never would've looked, dropping it into the garbage can.

"Well, I guess that answers my question," Jacqueline said, her voice having a bit of a nervous edge to it. She was still going to be anxious around people, even if she'd been spending so much time with Finn lately — the one person who made her nervous, but not in the same ways everyone else did. "Thanks, though."

Tony shrugged, laughing slightly. "No problem. I've been here enough times — especially in the kitchen."

Jacqueline smiled. Even in the orphanage, Tony had loved to eat. "Boys and their food," she teased, but suddenly felt practically guilty about it, because the only person she would really tease lately was Finn.

_I didn't do anything wrong,_ Jacqueline thought. _We're not going out — it's not like I'm cheating on him or anything._

Oh, God, was she flirting with him? No, she couldn't be, though she knew she didn't have much experience in that field. Besides, she shouldn't be doing that anyway, if what she was doing was considered flirting at all, because of how big of a crush Vanessa seemed to have on Tony.

Jacqueline swallowed, feeling her heart beat more quickly, as if she'd been caught in a lie. She tried to reassure herself that there was nothing to be nervous about, but, in all honesty, how often did that actually _work _with Jacqueline?

Tony didn't seem quite so nervous, however — at least, not as nervous as he had been the last time they had seen each other. Though it had only been yesterday since they'd trained together, a lot had happened since then. Jacqueline didn't really feel like thinking about it again, though.

But what had happened that made Tony so much less nervous than he had been prior to today? Perhaps he'd been wondering about her, too, like she had been wondering about him, and now that he knew that she really _was _the Jacqueline he'd known as a little kid, his nerves had gone away.

Lucky for him.

Tony strode back over to the table that Jacqueline was leaning on, having grabbed a bowl of cereal for himself while Jacqueline had been stressing out again. "So, I don't know if anyone told you, but Finn got hurt again last night."

"Yeah, I know," Jacqueline said, almost defensively. "I was, um, with him when it happened."

Tony ate a spoonful of his cereal, nodding thoughtfully as he swallowed. "Oh, okay. Are you two going out?"

If it had been any other guy asking her that question, Jacqueline probably would've wondered why he was asking — that is, if they were, you know, interested in her. Of course, this had never actually happened, as she couldn't picture any guy being interested in her in the slightest, but, if the situation ever occurred, Jacqueline definitely would've been a little surprised, not to mention nervous.

But Tony, instead, didn't sound "interested" in her at all. Instead, he just sounded curious. If there was some sort of underlying meaning to his words, Jacqueline had completely missed it and hadn't understood it at all. It was actually sort of relaxing to talk to someone with whom she didn't have to worry about every little thing that came out of their mouths.

Jacqueline wasn't entirely relaxed, of course — when was she? — but, with other people, things didn't seem quite so effortless, especially with Finn. She was constantly trying to think of something to say, or think about what he had just said, or something of the like.

But Tony had just asked a simple question, and Jacqueline only had to give him a simple response back. It was quite… nice, she thought. "Everyone asks me that," Jacqueline said, blushing slightly, "but no, we're not."

Tony shrugged. "Okay. But that's not the real reason why I'm actually down here."

Jacqueline smiled. "I would hope not. My life isn't all that interesting to be asking questions about early in the morning."

"Neither is mine," he replied, laughing. "But I am supposed to be training you for the next couple of days, depending on when Finn's ready and back on his feet again to train. And, you know, when Clary lets him," he added.

"She did seem pretty mad last night," Jacqueline agreed. "It was kind of funny seeing her expression, but she was pretty pissed that Finn was actually moving around when he really wasn't supposed to be."

Tony moved a piece of hair away from his forehead, and though he didn't look a thing like Finn, the movement reminded Jacqueline of him, and again she felt a sick, guilty feeling inside of her. It sounded melodramatic and cliché, but it was definitely there, and she felt terrible about it. That, and an image of Vanessa came into her mind, too. God, what was she _doing_?

Before Jacqueline could try to encourage Tony to hurry up and finish his breakfast so they could go train — and, therefore, she could get rid of this awful feeling as soon as possible — he already had his empty cereal bowl in his hand and put it inside of the dishwasher. "Ready to go to training?" he asked her.

Jacqueline forced a smile upon her face, trying to hide her emotions. "Yeah, definitely."

—•—

Finn leaned up against the wall near the kitchen, one foot bent on the wooden paneling and the other on the floor. His arms were crossed against his chest, only to steady himself, because he was feeling angrier than he had in a long time — almost as angry as he had been when Kristal had cheated on him.

He'd heard their whole conversation, of course, Tony and Jacqueline's, even though his getting up from his bed would make his mother furious if she found him. Though he couldn't see them from the position he'd been in, Jacqueline and Tony both seemed so… calm as they had been speaking. Jacqueline had been a bit nervous, which was to be expected, but she hadn't been entirely calm with _Finn_ after only two meetings. Tony, however, what from Finn had heard, she felt absolutely freaking fine around.

Of course, he'd forgotten that the two had known each other in the orphanage, but it didn't really matter. Tony liked her, that much was obvious. He hadn't sounded like he wanted to ask her out, but, then again, Tony was usually almost as nervous as Jacqueline was.

Finn thought that Tony had seemed especially confident today, and he wondered why. It was stupid to be overthinking this like he was, but he couldn't help it: he was jealous of the fact that Tony seemed to be flirting with Jacqueline.

_You're not dating her, dumbass, _he told himself, grimacing. _She can do whatever she wants. _

God, though, Finn had to stop lying to himself. He liked Jacqueline, he really did. When Tony had asked if the two of them were going out, he'd been almost hoping that she would have lied and said yes. In all honesty, he just wanted the statement to be true on its own, but a lie would suffice, for now, anyway.

Somehow, though — and whether it was because of his breakup with Kristal or not, Finn had no idea — Finn felt like Jacqueline just wasn't going to even _want _to go out with him. He'd been terrible to her last night, and he wondered if she had only almost kissed him because she was afraid he was going to hurt her, the kiss preventing that. But he'd never hurt her. He knew what it was like to have a bad past, and, yeah, sure her past had been a lot worse than hers, but Finn still knew what Jacqueline was going through.

_Maybe she doesn't want a guy with a bad past, _Finn thought. _Maybe she wants to be with someone who's not quite so… broken. _

He wanted to remember Isaac's advice, because, right when he had met Kristal, this was how he was feeling about her. He would think about her too much, overthink too much, and spend a lot of time fantasizing about just hanging out with her.

He didn't want to get in to something too deep again, something that, if it didn't end well, he'd be brokenhearted over. And it would probably be worse this time around because it would have been twice, by two girls that he cared more about than he should have. But, something about Jacqueline just made it worth the risk. He wanted to be with her.

There was only one thing Finn knew for certain at the moment — there was no way in hell that Finn was going to be in another situation like the one he'd had with Kristal. He wouldn't be someone's second choice, never again.

Tony and Jacqueline were not going to end up together, that much he would make sure of.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I almost was crying as I wrote this chapter. I love when Finn gets all jealous and angry at the same time. Anyways, give me feedback on this chapter, please, but I also have something else I'm asking you to do. For this review, could you please fill out this form below:

**MY RANDOM REVIEW REQUEST: **(5 is extremely good, 1 is extremely poor)

How would you rate my characters in this story, from 1 to 5?

How would you rate my dialogue in this story, from 1 to 5?

How would you rate my pacing in this story, from 1 to 5?

How would you rate my overall plot in this story, from 1 to 5?

Thanks so much. It would be really, really nice of you if you could fill this out for me, and I'd really appreciate it! It would be so awesome if you could do this. It would be nice of you to rate everything 5's, but please be honest, or the story won't be as good. Thanks again.

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"There was only one thing Finn knew for certain at the moment — there was no way in hell that Finn was going to be in another situation like the one he'd had with Kristal. He wouldn't be someone's second choice, never again."

**Sorry if you spot any mistakes! I'm in a rush, at the moment. And please fill out my random review request. Thanks so much. Love you guys!**

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi**


	32. Chapter Thirty-One

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I, first of all, want to apologize. (I say that a lot in these A / N's, don't I?) I forgot to tell you all that I was going on vacation and wouldn't have a lot of time to be writing. I feel bad, considering it's been over a week now, but I tried to make it a little longer than normal, about two thousand words. I'm also not replying to reviews today, sorry, because I don't have a ton of time. I did write this on a laptop as well, so if there's grammatical or spelling errors, sorry about that, too. I'm not used to writing on my normal computer. Anyways, thank you all for reviewing on the last chapter – I read each and every one – and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Thirty-One

"I _really _don't want to talk with you about this right now," Kristal said irritably into her cell phone, running a hand through her hair and twisting it around one of her slender fingers, bored out of her mind. "Or ever, for that matter."

"Kris, listen to me," Raphael said through the phone, Kristal cringing at the use of her nickname — the she only wanted one person to be calling her, and one person only. "I just don't get it," he continued. "You do stupid things sometimes, but this? Honestly, Kris."

Kristal sighed moodily, laying on her back on her bed and staring at the ceiling. "I would rather not discuss the parameters of why I broke up with you, Raphael, and you should know that, because I, you know, _just told you I didn't want to_."

The pair was silent for a few seconds, no words exchanging between them on their cell phones. "It's him, isn't it," Raphael said, not even bothering to phrase it like a question. Kristal knew he had a general understanding of the true meaning of their break-up. "The one you cheated on. Frank or Fred or something.

Kristal blinked, trying to ignore the slight stinging she felt in her eyes as she tried hard to not cry. Again, a silence passed between them until Kristal finally said in a muffled tone, "_Don't_ you ever call me again, Raphael." Though she had tried to say it coldly — and it had almost worked — her voice had broken on the last note as a stray tear finally fell onto her pillow. "And his _name_ is Finn."

The moment she'd hung up on Raphael, a notification popped up onto the screen, saying she'd missed a call from her mother while talking with her ex-boyfriend. "Damn it," she muttered, sucking in a breath as she hurriedly touched the "call back" button.

Kristal hadn't even bothered to listen to her mother's voice-mail, because she already knew exactly what she would be calling about. Sighing heavily, Kristal began yet another conversation with her mom — if you could even call her that.

—•—

Jacqueline and Tony picked up their practice where they had left off the day before. This time, however, Jacqueline told herself that she wasn't going to hurt anyone with the edges of her knife — or herself, for that matter, considering that was what had happened with Finn during their last training sessions.

Tony still seemed surprisingly confident as they continued their practice. It struck Jacqueline as odd, because though Tony hadn't been particularly "unconfident" during the years they had known each other at the orphanage, it wasn't like he'd been quite as self-assured as he was now.

Tony stopped after a moment, their practice fight getting slower and slower as the pair grew more and more tired. Another surprise to her, however, was how she had almost had the upper hand to Tony during the beginning of their fight. It wasn't a huge difference — and Tony was really good — but Jacqueline was frequently one step ahead of him as they used their knives. Not that this was the case all the time, of course, but sometimes. This training thing, whether or not Finn was teaching her or not, seemed to come almost… naturally.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jacqueline asked him suddenly, the knife hanging loosely at her side.

Tony laughed, lowering his weapon as well. "I could ask you the same question, Jacqueline."

"Okay, well, I asked first," Jacqueline teased, breaking into a smile.

Tony shrugged. "I'm just thinking of what you told me yesterday, about those golden Runes."

Jacqueline raised her eyebrows, surprised by his response. She'd almost forgotten that she had told him about her strange experience with the Runes. "What about?"

Not responding, he walked over to the wall where there were various swords and blades hanging from differently-shaped pegs and nails, along with a box with larger weapons into which Tony placed his knife. "It just… makes me wonder. You seem to be almost… too good at this Shadowhunter stuff, you know?"

Jacqueline bit her lip. "What do you mean?"

Losing the air of confidence that had been surrounding him for the past few minutes, Tony rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm not the greatest Shadowhunter, but for a girl who, uh, has had barely any training or much experience in athletics, you shouldn't be beating me this easily."

Jacqueline tried to protest, "It wasn't easy—"

"Nah, don't worry about it," Tony interrupted, shaking his head. "You were definitely better than me, but that's not the point. I just think there's a connection between these Runes of yours that don't seem to work and your, well, your strange skill in Shadowhunting. Not trying to repeat myself, but it just makes me, you know, wonder."

"It makes me wonder, too," Jacqueline said thoughtfully, handing her knife to Tony, which he then put inside the box with his. "But, then again, I haven't really been trying to figure it out, either. I've been… busy."

Tony nodded, resting a hand on one of the wooden beams to his left. "I would think that you would be. You've been here for, what, a week?"

"Yeah, just about," she replied, though that wasn't the entire reason why she'd been busy. Jacqueline had spent more time worrying about Finn and Kristal than she probably should have. Building some sort of plan about these Runes might have been useful — Tony had obviously been thinking about this more than she had, and it was _her_ problem, not his.

Tony took a swig of water from the clear, plastic bottle that was on the floor beside him before saying, "It's just a theory. I've never heard of anything like this happening before, so I don't have anything to go on."

Jacqueline shrugged. "A theory sounds better than nothing, which is basically all I've got so far."

Tony only nodded, walking over to the wall from which hung more weapons. Not looking at Jacqueline for a moment, his gaze fell upon the different blades, and he fingered them all carefully. To her, it looked like Tony was deep in thought, and she didn't want to interrupt him.

"You didn't answer my question, you know," Tony said after a moment, carefully maneuvering a bow and a set of arrows off of the wall.

Jacqueline felt a bit nervous, because she'd been counting on him forgetting about it. Oh, well. "Oh, about why I was looking at you? It doesn't matter."

Tony kept walking to different spots around the room, moving various targets and other pieces of equipment into corners and onto shelves, clearly trying to create more space. "I answered your question," he pointed out, smiling.

"I guess you did..." Jacqueline sighed, rubbing the tattoo on her wrist without even thinking about it. "You had just looked more confident today, more than yesterday, I mean."

"Really?" He almost sounded pleased, and Jacqueline tilted her head to the side questioningly. Why would that make him happy?

Noting her expression, Tony immediately backtracked, looking embarrassed. "It... it's nothing, n-never mind. I don't really care anymore."

_I think he's a worse liar than I am, _Jacqueline thought. She tried to keep herself from smiling, because that would hurt Tony's feelings, but he was even funnier to watch when he blushed than Finn. "You sure it was nothing?" she asked teasingly.

"Absolutely positive," Tony said unconvincingly, quickly turning away to move another piece of equipment, though Jacqueline suspected it was just so he could avoid her questions.

Jacqueline felt a bit like Vanessa when she walked over assuredly to Tony, again trying to figure out what he was talking about. Thinking of Vanessa, Jacqueline realized that by getting this answer from Tony, she might be able to tell Vanessa about it. Considering how she hadn't really done much on her promise to "talk Vanessa up" to Tony, she thought this might be a good thing for her to do.

"We talked about the thing with the Runes for a good few minutes," Jacqueline said,grinning. "I think the _least _you could do is tell me what _you _were just thinking about."

"Another time, maybe?" Tony said quickly. "We've got... work to do."

Jacqueline felt a little weird, as this was such an out-of-character thing for her to be doing, but tried to go with it anyway. "You ended our training yesterday to babysit a four year old," she pointed out. "And not that I don''t love Lizzie, but... we could clearly stop for a break now, if we wanted to."

Tony sighed. "But I _don't _want to."

"Please? We're friends."

"I haven't seen you in eight years."

"Then..." Jacqueline paused, trying to think of something clever to say. "We'll definitely be friends _after _you tell me why you looked so happy after I told you that you had looked confident."

Tony turned away from her, shifting around a few pieces of equipment with his back to Jacqueline. "It's a girl, okay? You happy now?"

Jacqueline smiled. "Yes, of course I am! What's she like?"

"The kind of girl who likes confident people." Tony turned back around to face Jacqueline, his face a bit redder than normal. "And I was trying to practice it, before I was actually with her."

_It's definitely not me, then, _Jacqueline thought. As much as she liked Tony, it was hard enough for her to get rid of her crush on Finn — or whatever the hell it was. "What's her name?" Jacqueline asked, unable to help herself.

"That," Tony said, "I'm not telling you. No matter how much you ask, beg, or plead."

Jacqueline frowned dramatically, trying to make a show of it. "You sure?"

"Yeah," Tony said with finality. "Now, c'mon, let's go back to practicing."

—•—

Finn was in the infirmary again, and although he wasn't resting like his mother had asked him to do, he was trying to avoid reopening the wound on his side. He wasn't going to lie — it had hurt last night when the demon-inflicted injury had started to bleed again, so it was a good idea to take it easy. But, all things considered, he was still incredibly bored.

Unfortunately, there weren't any balconies in this wing of the Institute that Finn could really sneak off to and waste some time on. Staring out the window helped, which was what he was reduced to doing now, but being inside the infirmary for god knows how long made him feel... trapped. He longed to get out of here and do _something_, but the idea of having to deal with an angry set of parents — particularly his mother — if he was caught was not very appealing to him.

Suddenly getting an idea, Finn searched around the infirmary for a piece of paper. It took a few times of opening various cabinet doors to find anything, but after a few minutes, he found a pad of lined paper and a pencil in one of the farthest corners of the topmost shelf in the room.

After locking the door, as he didn't want anyone to come in unexpectedly and find him sketching, Finn tapped his fingers on his knees thoughtfully, trying to think of something to draw. He was already feeling less bored, now that he had something specific to think about. Though his thoughts kept wandering to Jacqueline, Finn knew he wasn't going to draw her again — that had been far too risky.

Instead, though, he thought of something he _could _draw, something that could remind him of her but not be quite so obvious: the greenhouse.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I didn't really love this chapter, to be perfectly honest. I loved the bit with Kristal at the beginning, but it's really hard for me to write dialogue with Tony. But the Finn part was pretty cute, too, I thought.

**MY RANDOM REVIEW QUESTIONS: **Any suggestions on how I can improve Tony? And I tried to further the plot with the bit with Kristal at the beginning and with Tony in the middle, because a bunch of people said I should do that. Did the bit with Kristal confuse you? It should've. :)

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"I just think there's a connection between these Runes of yours that don't seem to work and your, well, your strange skill in Shadowhunting."

**Sorry again for any grammatical errors, but please remember to review! I would really appreciate it. :)**

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi**


	33. Chapter Thirty-Two

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hi, guys! Just got home from my vacation, so I had lots of time to write this chapter for you guys. I only got nine reviews or something on the last chapter, which I was a little disappointed by, but I'm pretty proud of this chapter – even if it's mostly conversation. :)

And now, onto some more serious stuff. Recently, some reviewers have been saying that I need a bit more of a "plot" to the story or a villain. While I completely appreciate each and every review, I would like to say something: THIS IS A ROMANCE STORY. There will be almost-kisses and jealousy, fights and drama, and loads of other romantic stuff. I'm not going to have a huge villain that's similar to Valentine, because a) I'm terrible at writing action scenes and b) I don't want to copy TMI / TID. I'm not planning on having some sort of sinister, behind-the-scenes plan for someone to kidnap Jacqueline or something or for Finn to save the world. Yes, there's going to be some HUGE drama and sadness at the climax, but, and I'm saying this for the last time, THIS IS NOT AN ACTION FANFIC. I know I sound bitter – though I'm trying not to, believe me – but I feel like I keep having to repeat myself when people are like, "Where's the action?"

Sorry about that very long and boring paragraph, but I needed to let you all know. So thanks.

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**Luvmusic87: **Glad you liked it! Let me know if I can improve anything.

**Booklover1598: **He may be in love with Nessa, but she sure as hell doesn't believe it. Read this chapter to find out more. :)

**Abnormally-Blonde: **I fangirl over fictional characters too, but I'm glad you were fangirling over mine. That actually just made my day, so thanks for that.

**Guest: **Aww, thank you! I think all my scenes with Tony are going to be pretty cute, though Finn might say otherwise… :)

**Thedauntlessshadowhunter: **Yeah, I realized, because even though I know there was a correlation between the two, seeing as I'm the author, I forgot to actually say that specifically in the chapter. Glad it cleared things up, though.

**Arocksprpl2: **I really want to reply and tell you what happens next, just because of your review… But I won't, so I don't ruin it for you.

**BonyHerondale: **I definitely will be doing more Finline scenes. I just stopped for a while because I felt like I had a huge overload of them for a couple of chapters, but they both have a cute scene near the end of this chapter. :)

**Natalia: **Lol, did I tell you about what happened with Kristal and her mom? You're not supposed to know, but I might've told you anyway… :)

**Enjoy this chapter! **

Chapter Thirty-Two

"I thought you would be happy about this."

"No, of course I'm not!"

"But _why?_"

Jacqueline and Vanessa were in the library after Jacqueline had finished her training with Tony. When Jacqueline had told Vanessa about Tony's attempt to practice being confident, Vanessa had been thoroughly disappointed. Needless to say, Jacqueline was as confused as Vanessa was unhappy.

"I just don't think he was talking about me, that's all," Vanessa said, an edge to her voice that Jacqueline hadn't heard in it before.

Jacqueline rolled her eyes, trying to soothe the worries of the girl sitting across from her. "Ness, you can't be serious."

Vanessa tapped her manicured fingernails on the table, sighing. "Didn't you say that you two had known each other growing up?"

Jacqueline nodded once, trying to brush away the image of Mrs. Ferrival that had creeped its way into her head, like it always did when someone brought up Westdell Orphanage. "Yeah, I guess, but that was a long time ago."

Vanessa didn't look at her. "So?"

"I was, like, seven years old," Jacqueline said, trying to meet Vanessa's gaze again. "And I barely knew him." That was a bit far from the truth — she had known Tony somewhat more than she had implied, but from the way Vanessa was acting so strangely, Jacqueline thought a lie might be a little better.

Vanessa put a hand under her chin, staring off into the distance somewhere. "He barely knows I exist," she said sadly.

"But he's here, for training—"

"Training _you_," Vanessa muttered bitterly, cutting Jacqueline off mid-sentence.

Jacqueline's eyes widened, and she spoke quickly. "No, Ness, it's not like that. Tony's a great guy, but I don't, you know"—she laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood—"_like_ him, like him."

Vanessa stayed quiet, and Jacqueline could tell that she didn't really believe the words that Jacqueline was telling her. "I'll bet he likes you," Vanessa said, and Jacqueline couldn't think of a time when she'd sounded so defeated.

Jacqueline moved her chair back then, biting her lip and moving to the other side of the table. She took a seat beside Vanessa. "Ness, look at me," she said softly. "Please."

Vanessa's dark hair had been covering her face slightly, but she brushed it away to reveal slightly watery eyes. "Just going to feed me some bullshit about how it's not true?" she said, and although she tried to come off as angry, Jacqueline couldn't help but notice how broken she sounded. "That Tony likes me just as much as I like him?"

"Look," Jacqueline said carefully, not wanting to say the wrong thing. "I don't know a lot about guys, but I've only really hung out with Tony twice—"

"It was enough to get Finn to like you—"

"That's not the point," Jacqueline interrupted, trying not to let a blush deny her emotions. She was supposed to be helping Vanessa, not thinking about Finn and whether what Vanessa was saying was true. "If Tony doesn't feel the same way as you do, then he's missing out. Because you're pretty and smart and you're a great Shadowhunter and any guy would be lucky to have you."

Vanessa laughed weakly, standing up from her chair. "Yeah, but so are you, Jacqueline. And so are so many other girls."

"Vanessa, I don't like Tony," Jacqueline said seriously. "And I wouldn't act on it even if I did, because I know you like him. And besides, I think I..."

Vanessa smiled teasingly — one of the realer smiles, Jacqueline thought — placing a hand on her hip as Jacqueline trailed off. "You think what?"

Jacqueline blushed. "Never mind."

"Okay, whatever you say," Vanessa said, sounding a bit more normal as she took a few steps nearer to the library door. "I knew what you were going to say anyway," she added in an undertone.

Jacqueline couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. "_What?_"

Vanessa responded with a roll of her eyes, and although she looked a little happier, there seemed to be an overall sadness to the girl that Jacqueline hadn't thought had been there prior to a few minutes ago. "I've got to get going," Vanessa said after a moment.

Jacqueline paused, biting her lip. "You sure you're okay?"

Vanessa nodded, as though she was trying to both reassure Jacqueline and herself at the same time. "Yeah. I'll… I'll be fine."

"Come and talk to me if you need to, Ness," Jacqueline said quietly, feeling a bit guilty for something she hadn't even done.

Vanessa forced a smile upon her face, and nodded, leaving the room.

—•—

Finn set his drawing down on the windowsill, eyeing it thoughtfully. It had taken him longer than he would've expected to finish it, but only because he'd had to keep hiding the piece of paper underneath his pillow when other people came into the room. His mom had come in at least twice to "check up on him", as she had put it. Personally, Finn just thought it was for her to make sure he wasn't sneaking out of his room, and while he understood that she was a mom and all and this is was what they do, he was growing a little irritated.

Then, of course, Lizzie had shown up in the infirmary as well — without Chris, which was a surprise to him — and Finn again had had to hide his drawing underneath his pillow case. Although Liz was the type of four year old who, if asked to keep a secret, would do it incredibly well, he'd kept this part of his life so hidden for so long that it would be strange if someone, even his little sister, knew about it.

All in all, though, even with the distractions of his family, Finn had managed to draw a pretty good picture of the greenhouse, he thought. It wasn't entirely accurate, of course, as he didn't know where the exact spot of every flower was, but the shading and the lighting he'd managed to do with only his one pencil was fairly impressive.

Now, though, being done with the drawing, Finn was, shockingly, bored again.

Well, there was one thing he _could_ do.

He'd have to sneak out, of course, but that wasn't really much of a problem. Besides, it would be fun — and it certainly would be better than staying in the freaking hospital room all day, that much he was sure of.

After carefully making sure the hallway was clear and stowing away his drawing, Finn both quietly and quickly strode over to Vanessa's bedroom. He knocked on her door twice, lightly enough that she would hear him, but hopefully no one else would.

"Come in," he heard Vanessa say, her voice slightly muffled because of the closed door.

Finn opened the door, seeing Vanessa at the seat of her vanity, applying some sort of makeup product to the area near her eyes . This made Finn shrink back a little bit — he wasn't really one of those guys who could handle all that "girly stuff" — and he stood close to the door.

Vanessa didn't turn around, and she watched him with slightly red, puffy eyes from her mirror. "She's in the library."

Finn raised his eyebrows, looking at Vanessa's reflection warily. "How the hell did you know what I was going to ask?"

"Because I know _you_, Finn," Vanessa said, almost sadly. "Now go to the library and talk to her. I'm sure she'll be wanting to see you, too."

_Is it that obvious? _he thought, but said only a quick "thanks, Ness," before hurrying out of the room, not noticing that Vanessa had been using concealer to cover up her red eyes from crying.

—•—

Finn opened the library door. It was a dim room in general, but sometimes, especially around noon, which is what time it was now, little hints of light could poke through the curtains and cast shadows on the walls. There were lamps, of course, but it seemed like Jacqueline hadn't turned them on, wherever she was.

"Jeez, it's dark in here," he announced, trying to not make it quite so obvious that he was looking for Jacqueline. If Vanessa had figured out that he liked her, she could've too, couldn't she?

God, he hoped she hadn't. But, then again, they had almost kissed last night.

She _had _to have figured it out by now.

Finn didn't know what the hell he wanted anymore.

Still, as he waged this internal battle with himself, Finn didn't see Jacqueline come up to him, looking a little tentative — _probably, _Finn thought, _because of last night and the way I yelled at her _— and still wearing her training gear. The image of her training with Tony sent little flames of jealousy into his heart, but he pushed them away. He'd go back to training her soon.

"Hey," Jacqueline said warily, a book under her arm. She looked at Finn with her curious, blue eyes, biting her lip.

Finn shoved his hands in his pockets, wondering if it was a bad idea to have come. If she was mad at him, which he wouldn't blame her for if she was, it would be awkward between them. Or, well, more awkward than normal, anyway, since it was practically always awkward between them.

"Hey," he said, wishing he could think of something more intelligent to have said, and ran his fingers through his hair. "I… I'm really sorry for last night, Jack. About the all the stuff I said. And I know I told you last night about it, but I thought… I thought I should tell you again. Now that I'm not, you know, bleeding from a demon injury or anything." _Or trying to kiss you, _he thought, wishing he could've said it out loud.

Jacqueline smiled a little, Finn taking it as a good sign. "It's okay," she said sweetly. "Can we just not talk about it anymore?"

"Absolutely." Finn exhaled in relief, letting out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "So what are you reading?"

Jacqueline looked surprised, as if she had forgotten that she'd had a book in her hands in the first place. "Oh, this?" She looked down at the cover thoughtfully before meeting Finn's eyes again. "Tony said he thought that there might be some sort of reason why I'm pretty good during training and why I the Runes don't work on me. So I figured I'd research it."

Again, even when she mentioned Tony's name, Finn felt that surge of jealousy. But, as kindly as he could, he said, "You're better than 'pretty good' at training, Jacqueline. You're _really _good."

She blushed, looking down at her feet. "Um, thanks."

Finn wondered why she couldn't accept compliments, because it was clear, to him at least, that she _was _really good at being a Shadowhunter — and there probably _was_ a connection between the Runes and her skill, though it pissed him off that Tony was the one that had thought of it and not him. "You want help?"

"Sure. That would be awesome."

Finn and Jacqueline spent the rest of the day in the library like that, reading different books and searching for anything that could possibly give them an explanation as to why Jacqueline's Runes were gold and didn't work. They got up sometimes, for snacks and even for hot chocolate once, but no one came in to bother them, for which Finn was grateful. And although they both didn't find anything that could really help them, he was thankful that his mother hadn't known where he was — or maybe she had, but had decided to let Finn stay in the library.

Whatever the reason, Finn was glad he had gotten to spend so much of his day with Jacqueline — and it was definitely better than spending all day in the infirmary, that was certain.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **It made me really sad when I wrote that part with Vanessa. She just sounded so… sad. But I wanted to make her seem a bit more real, that maybe she's _not _quite so confident all the time. And, let me tell you, this chapter was so much fun to write from Finn's POV. I think I just like it when he's jealous, but whatever.

Hopefully, the next update will be, at the latest, Wednesday, but, if not, I will not be updating until August 8th because of a lack of Internet connection. It's probably a good thing if you have to wait, because I have no idea what to do with the next chapter.

And, if you have the time, could you please review? I would love to get tons of reviews, and if anyone's reading this who's never reviewed before, review! I want to know what you like or don't like. Even just a simple, "Loved it! Update soon!" would be awesome.

I also have a poll on my profile, if anyone wants to answer it. I forgot about it until now, but if anyone puts in a vote for their favorite male character from TMI / TID, I'll send you a virtual hug. :)

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"_Is it that obvious? _he thought, but said only a quick "thanks, Ness," before hurrying out of the room, not noticing that Vanessa had been using concealer to cover up her red eyes from crying."

**Once again, I apologize for any grammatical / spelling errors. Also, please, please, PLEASE review! I want to know who's reading my fanfic. :) Have a good day!**

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi**


	34. Chapter Thirty-Three

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Um, hi. I know you all hate me for not updating for two weeks, and I was pretty annoyed with myself, too. I didn't have Internet for a week (so I couldn't have updated until August 8th anyway), but I think I had my worst case of writer's block ever. I'm not kidding. I would try to think of ideas or just sit at my computer screen, but nothing. Ever. Came. To. Mind. And it sucked. When I finally came up with an idea though – and actually typed it up – it just felt… weird. It's kind of a flashback thing, kind of not… It's just plain weird. I don't even know if I like it or not, so it might go back into editing it, depending on reviews.

Speaking of which, thank you SO much for all of your reviews! I got lots, which made me really excited when I checked my emails and saw it all blown up with notifications about reviews. If you want to do that again (hint, hint) that would be awesome.

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**Reading Addicted: **I actually wasn't planning on having Raphael turn Kristal into a vampire, never even thought of it, actually, hahaha. Don't worry, though – he plays a huge part in the ending of the story. :)

**Roselinta07: **I feel bad for her, too, lol. But I thought it made her feel more real, you know? Glad you liked it.

**Booklover1598: **I know what you mean! I liked writing Ness like that, but at the same time, I didn't. It doesn't even make sense to me when I write, sometimes. :)

**Thalia Michele: **Glad you liked it! Sorry for the wait.

**Jaclyntaylor0504: **Aww, thank you! I really appreciate it. :)

**GingerNinjaaa: **I actually thought of you when I had writer's block. I feel really bad that you didn't get to read it before you went on holiday, but hopefully (whenever you're reading this) you liked it!

**Guest: **That was my goal, so I'm glad it worked out. I'm always trying to make characters more realistic. And I have a song planned for her, but I'm not sure exactly when she'll sing it. Maybe six chapters or so? I'm not sure yet. But it'll be good, promise. :)

**Luvmusic87: **I did write in his POV for part of this chapter based on your suggestion. I like getting inside their heads, too. :)

**BonyHerondale: **I'm calling them "Finline", lol, but I love "Fack", too! I like knowing people ship them as much as I do. :)

**DauntlessShadowhunter479: **I have a Jacqueline / Finn / Tony dramatic scene coming up – you'll sort of get it by the end of this chapter, along with the Clace moment. :) And I love jealous Finn, too!

**Thedauntlessshadowhunter: **I didn't even think of that, but you're so right!

**Natalia: **Okay, okay, I'll tell you more the next time I see you, promise. Just, you know, remind me. :)

**Long Time Reader: **Their kiss scene is going to be really good – lots of angst and drama coming before it, though. I was actually really excited to see that you had been reading from the beginning, because when I asked people to review, I was hoping to talk to someone who had been here from the very start of AGL. And, yeah, I get what you mean about the pacing. It's definitely something I'm trying to practice with this fanfic. And I'm planning on a cute Tony / Vanessa scene, but I have no idea when I'm going to do that, lol. Thanks for the long review – I love those! :)

**Guest: **Thank you! I like his POV, too.

**F: **Sorry for the wait on the update, but I'm glad you liked it!

**Naomi: **I kept telling myself I had to update soon, but it's probably a little different for the author vs. the reader. :)

**Please excuse the extreme weirdness of this chapter, but enjoy! **

Chapter Thirty-Three

_Seven-year-old Jacqueline D'Angelo was sitting with her knees curled up to her chest on her bed in Westdell Orphanage, looking outside at the streets below her with curious, blue eyes. The room where all of the girls Jacqueline's age (or near to it) slept was empty — everyone else was eating dinner, but Jacqueline had eaten quickly and come back to her room early. She didn't really know why, but it was nice here, she thought. _

_Jacqueline's hair, ever so close to white, was falling down her back in loose waves, and she twirled it around her finger. Her hair was getting too long for her taste, and the split ends were starting to get more noticeable. Every once in a while, Mrs. Ferrival would bring in some other worker to cut the girls' hair, but it seemed, as the months went by, that those visits were becoming less and less frequent. _

_Overall life had been getting worse at the orphanage, too, though. Chores were getting more strenuous, bedtimes were earlier, and portions of food were being lessened. Mrs. Ferrival seemed more on edge, too. Jacqueline wondered, sometimes, if it was because she was getting older, that maybe she was just noticing more things nowadays than she would have, say, a few years ago. She was the oldest now — at least on the girls' side of the orphanage — so perhaps that was it. _

_Everyone else that was older than she was, after all, had been adopted already. It made her feel sad, to think that nobody out there wanted her. Her birth parents hadn't wanted her, and, so it seemed, no one else wanted her either. _Wouldn't it be nice, _Jacqueline thought, _to have a mommy who could cut my hair for me? Or… Or maybe a daddy who could play catch with me in the park or something?

_Of course, Jacqueline always tried to remind herself that, really, she didn't have it so bad here at the orphanage. So what if food was less? She never went to bed hungry, did she? And chores weren't so bad. Everyone had to keep the orphanage clean, didn't they? It wasn't fair to have someone else cleaning up after her, was it? There were other kids out there who were living on their own, in the streets and barely scraping by._

_Jacqueline didn't want to be one of those kids. Yeah, she wasn't really always _happy, _happy while she was in the orphanage, but living out in Manhattan, no one else with her?_

_It would take something pretty bad to get her to do that, because she couldn't even think about leaving the orphanage. The world was a big and scary place, and even if she was older than seven years old, she'd still think this way. That's what she thought now, anyways._

_Though there were breezes floating in through the window, rustling the curtains, Jacqueline thought she heard something other than the movement of fabric from behind her, and turned around to see Tony, his dark eyes showing a contained sort of happiness._

"_Hi, Tony," she said, sounding neither incredibly cheerful nor incredibly sad. It felt like her mood had been like that for a while now — just a sort of… medium._

_Tony, however, looked a lot happier than Jacqueline did. "Hi, Jacqueline!"_

_She tilted her head to the side questioningly. "Tony, how'dcha get up here?" She giggled a little. "You know that boys aren't allowed on the girls' side of the building when it's nighttime."_

_Tony shrugged, smiling and showing his dimples. "They're letting me, because it's my last night here."_

_Jacqueline bit down on her lip, something she'd found herself doing more and more lately. "What?"_

"_Yup," Tony said, sitting across from her on one of the other beds. "Remember that mom and dad who came by a while ago, with their little girl?"_

_Jacqueline nodded, wondering where the story was going. Of course she'd remembered the mom and dad! More than anything else, she wanted her own mom and dad, her very own. They had come looking around the orphanage a few weeks back, talking only to little boys. It had made her a little sad, to have not been talked to by them, but, then again they had looked as if they were in such a bad mood that she didn't really know if she had wanted to be adopted by them. They had both looked stressed out, the mother, especially. _

_The weird thing was, though, they had a daughter there, too, one who had looked quite the opposite of her parents but extraordinarily similar to Jacqueline. Secretly, Jacqueline had been fantasizing that those _were _her real parents, because she could've been sisters with the daughter they had brought with them, just because of how much they had looked alike. Still, though, that didn't make sense — and she didn't think she'd want to be their daughter anyway._

"_Well," Tony said, interrupting her thoughts, "they said they're going to adopt me!"_

_Jacqueline couldn't keep a grin off her face. "Yay!" she exclaimed, laughing. "Tony, this is so cool!"_

_He nodded, smiling just as broadly as she was. "They have a daughter already. Her name is Kristal."_

"_That means you get to be a brother, too!" Jacqueline was so happy for Tony. They hadn't been the closest of friends, but she probably talked to him the most out of anyone else in the orphanage. "But I'm gonna miss you."_

"_Me too," Tony said sadly, sighing. "But we'll still see each other, right?"_

_Jacqueline looked at him, her temporary elated feeling going away. "I dunno. Where do they live?"_

"_They said it was far, far away from here. Another country. But we're going to see each other again, I know it."_

_Jacqueline almost felt jealous. She wished she could've gotten to be adopted, not even caring who it was. She hated feeling so… so unwanted. It was a deep feeling for a seven-year-old, but it was most assuredly there. "Maybe," she lied. There weren't going to be any trips to see an old friend in an orphanage if Tony was living in another country. "I… I hope we get to, though."_

_Tony was silent, staring at his palms, his mood changing within seconds. Jacqueline immediately felt guilty, and sat on the bed next to him. "We will," she said, lying again and feeling awful for it. "We'll see each other again. We have to." She was only saying this to make Tony feel better, as there was no shot for them to visit if Tony was moving out of America. Heck, Jacqueline hadn't ever been out of the city before, let alone the country! A visit, even a short one, seemed like a distant fantasy._

_Tony and Jacqueline didn't really get any opportunities to spend time together after that quiet evening together. She'd let him mostly just continue talking about what his life was going to be like, and Jacqueline found herself getting quite sad and envious. She pushed it all away, though, because Tony had always been so nice to her and she wanted to return the favor. _

_It was about a year after Tony left, though, when she was eight, that all of Jacqueline's troubles began with Mrs. Ferrival. And, with that taking up so much of her time, her thoughts of Tony slowly drifted away. She thought of him sometimes, obviously, but once she'd moved onto the streets, it seemed as if she had almost forgotten about him altogether — but only almost._

_It seemed strange to think that after their time in the orphanage, their lives had become intertwined yet again, but they had. _

—•—

The next day, all of the happiness Finn had been feeling while spending the day with Jacqueline had almost completely disappeared, all from a few words from his mother. He wondered, sometimes, if mundane parents were as bad as his own Shadowhunter ones, because, on days like these with his incredibly irritating mother and father, giving up the life of Runes and weaponry sounded better than having to deal with them.

"You're not serious," Finn said, his teeth gritted.

His mother, sitting on a chair in their kitchen, avoided his gaze as she rocked a sleeping Eddy in her arm. "The Silent Brothers said you needed a _week _of rest before going back to training Jacqueline, Finn. It's been two days."

Finn rolled his eyes, madder than he was trying to let on. "Details, details."

"Look, I'd be willing to let it slide if you _hadn't gotten hurt already._" His mother sighed sadly, pausing and smoothing a piece of hair away from his little brother's forehead before meeting his eyes again. "Finn, you almost _died_ when you went to Pandemonium. You're only sixteen; you have to realize that."

"So?" Finn's father, having wandered into the kitchen to get something to eat out of their refrigerator, rolled his eyes in a similar way that Finn had done, though more teasing than angry. "Clary, might I ask what _you _were doing when you were sixteen?"

Finn grinned, already knowing the answer, and watched his mother as she stuttered out the words, "T-that was different, Jace—"

"It is not," his father said teasingly, laughing a little. "Compared to what was going on when _we _were sixteen, I'd think Finn getting hurt by a demon is better than, say, sneaking off to Idris when he isn't supposed to." He said this with raised eyebrows, looking directly at his mother.

Her face turned red. "That was _one _time!"

Finn's father smiled. "He's not making any Portals either, mind you, to get there, only to crash into Lake Lyn in the process. Some _other _people I know might've done just that when _they _were sixteen."

"I had a reason for doing it, you know that—"

His father cut his mother off, repeating what Finn had said earlier: "Eh, details, details."

Though his mother looked annoyed, Finn could see the smile she was trying to hide as she looked down at Eddy again. His father had a habit of teasing her like this — it made him a little uncomfortable, sure (though Vanessa always had insisted it was, to use her words, "adorable"), as they were his parents. But at times like these, maybe he _was _glad he wasn't a mundane, if only for the reason that his father was trying to help him out a little bit.

"So I can go back to training her?" Finn asked, looking at his father expectantly and knowing that he was going to say yes.

His father didn't look at him, only replying casually, "No, of course not."

Finn felt his heart sink, that obviously not having been the answered he'd been hoping for. It had been nagging at him, ever since Tony had shown up to train Jacqueline, that _something _was going to happen between the both of them, as he was lying in bed and unable to do anything about it. He figured it was probably, in the end, Kristal's fault — she'd cheated on him with Raphael, and now he was afraid something like that was going to happen again, history repeating itself and all that crap. "Why?" Finn asked, sounding angrier than he had intended.

His mother shot him a look, reminding him to keep his tone level and calm. "Look, Finn—"

"We get it — you want to train the girl," his father said, interrupting his mother, though she didn't appear to have noticed. "But your mother and I are the heads of one of the world's most prominent Institutes. Having our teenage son not listening to the Silent Brothers reflects badly on us. Personally, I don't really care—"

Finn's mother's eyes widened. "Jace!" she said, in a reprimanding sort of way.

"What?" His father shrugged. "I don't really care if he listens to them or not, so as long as he doesn't get himself that seriously hurt. He's a Shadowhunter, Clary, this is what we _do_."

"Can we _please_ not talk about me like I'm not here?" Finn asked, running a hand through his hair. "Am I going back to training Jacqueline or not?"

His parents exchanged a glance with each other. Finn hated it when they did this, especially in front of him, like they were having an entire conversation when all they did was freaking look at each other.

"Fine," his mother said. "You can train her again, but on one condition: Tony has to train her with you."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **See, weird chapter, right? Oh, and before you tell me the orphanage thing was unrealistic, believe me, I know. I'm kind of basing the "big, bad orphanage" thing off of some sort of combination of the orphanage from "The Rescuers" and "Annie". I wanted to make it unrealistic just because it's a TMI fic, you know? I totally know what you're saying when you say it's not believable, because foster care and things like that are _way _better than the way I'm describing Westdell. I just wanted to have it go to the extreme. Does this even make sense? Reading it over, I feel like it doesn't. Oh, well.

I did include a cute Clace scene, though, I thought. All the stuff about Lake Lyn and how Clary was doing way more dangerous stuff than Finn was. Hopefully, for all you Clace shippers out there, you liked that part. I know Jace doesn't sound exactly like the Jace we all know from TMI, but he's a dad now, so he's bound to sound different – and I don't have Cassie Clare's writing talent, even if I wish I did.

So, tell me what you think! Don't be afraid to criticize – just make it constructive, please. If there's something you didn't like or if you have any suggestions, I appreciate them all.

Hopefully my writer's block goes away soon for a quick update!

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"_It would take something pretty bad to get her to do that, because she couldn't even think about leaving the orphanage. The world was a big and scary place, and even if she was older than seven years old, she'd still think this way. That's what she thought now, anyways._"

**Remember to review! I'm at 341 reviews as I'm writing this – maybe 355 by my next update? Even just a quick, "Loved it!" makes me feel happy, though feel free to write long reviews. I like those, too. :)**

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi**


	35. Chapter Thirty-Four

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hi, guys! To start off with, I was very surprised by the reviews I got on the last chapter, to be perfectly honest. They were all positive reviews – you all seemed to really enjoy the Clace scene, and a bunch of you thought the flashback was good. Honestly, I thought the chapter sucked, but if you liked it… Well, maybe I'll edit it later on, but definitely not for a while. So thanks for that.

In other news, I just want to tell you all to pay special attention to this Raphael scene I have at the beginning of this chapter. Trust me, it'll be useful to remember it. But I won't tell you any more than that. :)

Thanks for helping me reach over 350 reviews!

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**Guest: **Finn will be getting jealous often, you can count on that. And I will do my best to keep on with the story. I'm starting high school in the fall, but hopefully I'll be able to still write – just possibly with shorter chapters.

**Luvmusic87 and BaskinxxRobins: **Thanks so much! Glad to know you liked it.

**Guest: **Your review sort of inspired me for the ending of this chapter, with the whole "Finn and Tony butting heads" thing, so thanks for that and for reviewing. :)

**Reading Addicted: **I'm not that good of a writer, but thanks so much for the compliment – it means a lot. :)

**Guest: **Wow, that's great! Honestly, I thought everyone was going to hate the last chapter, but it made me feel a lot better when I read your review and saw that everyone did like it. :D

**Heroherondaletotherescue: **Ahh, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but glad to know you liked it! I'm glad you thought the Jace thing was cute – I was afraid no one would think that – and I'll try to get them together soon. :)

**DauntlessShadowhunter479: **Everyone loves Clace, lol. But, oh my goodness, that thing you said about Mrs. Ferrival – I've never even thought of that! And your review helped inspire the Tony / Jacqueline / Finn scene at the end of this chapter, so thanks so much for that. :)

**Arocksprl2: **So happy you liked it! I've said this a bunch of times now, but I wasn't expecting such positive feedback! Thanks!

**ClaceObsessed: **Did you read it all in one night? Hahaha, yeah, that probably would take a while. And if you can draw, feel free to draw them, because I'm a terrible artist. :)

**GingerNinjaaa: **Ooh, awesome! Glad you got to read it, and thanks so much for reviewing!

**Guest: **I'm a big sucker for romance, too, but I'm guessing you've probably figured that out by now. Thanks so much; I really appreciate it.

**Natalia: **I could tell, hahaha. Hopefully, I'll remember to tell you about the chapter before we see CoB on Wednesday. :)

**Missy1234567890: **No, don't worry. I like when people ask questions. Basically, the story is a romance – but the golden Runes thing will be brought up, and make sure you pay attention to the Raphael and his vampires' part in this chapter – that's a new introduction that's going to play a HUGE part in the ending of AGL. So, yeah, things will be brought up, but as a whole, this story will always be a romance. Hopefully, that answered your question. :)

**Booklover1598 and Likethewordish: **Aww, thanks, guys! It means a lot. Glad you liked it! :)

**This chapter is about 1,800 words, so a bit shorter than normal, but be sure to pay attention as you read! Enjoy!**

Chapter Thirty-Four

Raphael Santiago sat moodily at his desk in Hotel Dumort, watching the cars pass by him from the ground below. It was around midnight or so — obviously, otherwise he wouldn't be awake, with the window open and curtains drawn back, for goodness sake — and his bedroom was dark, just as it always was.

Looking out over the city made him think of that idiot Shadowhunter kid, the one whose name Kristal had reminded him of when they had talked on the phone a few days earlier, which he'd, of course, readily forgotten. The one Kristal had dated. _Finn, _Raphael thought suddenly, the name having popped into his head after a moment of thinking of it. _That's it. _

He remembered talking to her about the Shadowhunter kid, and she'd mentioned once, very briefly, that Finn had spent a lot of time on his balcony, watching life unfold beneath him. It seemed kind of odd to him, but now, unfortunately, he was freaking acting like the kid.

How'd he remember, you might ask, if it was such a brief remark about someone he'd never really thought much of? Well, that was a fairly simple answer: Raphael had always cared for Kristal much more than she had ever cared for him. He had always paid attention to her and to everything she said — and still did, in fact.

Once she'd gone back to the Institute with some bullshit excuse that "her parents had kicked her out again", Raphael had known something was up, that their breakup was growing closer and closer. When they'd first started going out, Kris had rarely, if ever, talked about Finn. She'd thrown herself into a passionate romance with Raphael all within a week or so.

Not that Raphael minded, of course — Kristal was, to put it frankly, hot. Even if she was a Shadowhunter, there had been no denying that fact.

But, as time went on, he'd grown to care about the girl, instead of just basing his entire opinion of her on her outward appearance. She was smart and funny, and he couldn't believe that he'd been lucky enough to have had her. He'd _thought_ she felt the same way about him.

Right around the time that Raphael was thinking of these things, Kristal had started to drift away from him, speaking of Finn more and more often than she had ever done before. Sometimes, he didn't even know if she had realized it, that she was talking about the ex-boyfriend she had cheated on. But, other times, it looked as though it had slipped out, and she'd immediately tried to cover it up.

But Raphael noticed. He _always _noticed.

It was strangely disappointing to him when she'd broken up with him. He knew it was so she could go back to dating the Shadowhunter — that would surely welcome her back with open arms — and that he had probably only been some sort of rebound or something. Of course, it would've made much more sense if _Finn _had been the one to cheat on Kristal (and not the other way around), thus inciting a kind of "rebound", but, then again, nothing ever made sense with that girl.

Raphael knew, deep down, that it was better to have had things end with Kristal. He'd never really gotten much of a _reason _why they had ended, mind you, but he was a vampire. Getting into a relationship with a Shadowhunter, a mortal? What a joke.

Simon Lewis, he supposed, was probably the only exception, with the Lightwood girl — but he was barely a vampire at all. Staying out in the daylight, fraternizing with the Nephilim… Simon would never be one of them, no matter how hard he tried.

But he'd already had his problems with the Daylighter, ones he didn't feel the need to think about at the moment. He'd done that enough, say, about twenty years ago.

Returning back to his original thoughts, Raphael sighed. He knew the other vampires at the Dumort had noticed his change in mood. They had all known Kristal, or, at least, they had known _of _her. Their breakup was a common topic of conversation among some of the older vampires, those who had been under Raphael's command for a longer period of time than those newly Turned.

Unfortunately enough for him, though, those vampires hadn't exactly been… supportive of him. Instead of listening to Raphael's various orders and the like, so as not to irritate him even further, they had been mixing themselves into trouble. Some were getting into fights with werewolves, and others were losing thousands and thousands of dollars in bets and card games at warlocks' parties, just to name a few.

The vampires were growing tired of Kristal in general, but Raphael knew they wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to do whatever the hell they wanted while their leader was too distracted to really punish them for their behavior. It made Raphael annoyed, but they knew him well — he hadn't done much to them yet, and probably wouldn't for a while, at least for a few weeks as he got over Kristal.

Who knows what they were going to do next.

—•—

Jacqueline, dressed in training gear, looked at the two boys curiously, not quite understanding what Finn was telling her as the three teenagers stood together in the training room. "You're both training me? But… why?"

"I was tired of staying in the infirmary and wanted something to do," Finn said smoothly. Cracking a grin, he added, "You should be honored that training you was my first choice, Jack."

She rolled her eyes, biting her lower lip to keep a smile from escaping her and showing how much she enjoyed it when he teased her. "So then why is Tony here still? No offense"—she looked at Tony apologetically—"I was just wondering."

Tony shook off her apology with an easygoing smile and a shrug. "No worries. Mr. and Mrs. Herondale would just rather me stay here for a while, that way in case Finn's injury starts acting up or something, he can always take a break while I keep training you."

Finn looked a bit irritated — _perhaps about the way Tony had mentioned him a moment ago?_ Jacqueline wondered — and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. So now we're _both _here," he added in a slightly bitter undertone, Tony not appearing to have noticed.

Jacqueline had, though. She would usually pick up on the little things Finn did, even if she was trying to force herself not to. It was a hard battle, and one she knew she was losing.

_Focus, Jacqueline, _she told herself. "So, um, that's cool," she said, trying to cover up the fact that she had been drifting off into thoughts about Finn — she really did do that too much.

Finn caught her eye, his green eyed gaze locking on her ice-blue one for a moment, and he smirked, causing a blush to form on her cheeks. He'd obviously noticed she was daydreaming, but hopefully he hadn't realized he was the cause of it.

"Can we start?" Jacqueline asked abruptly, trying to pull herself away from staring at Finn. "I mean, if you guys are ready and all."

Tony looked over at Finn, seeking a confirmation. "I'm good. You?"

Finn responded only with a short, curt nod of his head, and the two boys made their way over to the wall where weapons were hanging, leaving Jacqueline wondering what was going on between them. Why did Finn seem so… annoyed? Yes, he was often in a bad mood — but today, it felt a little more different than usual.

_Maybe it's because Tony's here? _she thought, wishing that something involving that boy, for once, could be a little less confusing. Perhaps just having Tony here was bringing up bad memories for him and all, since Tony was Kristal's brother.

She was sympathetic. Bad memories that could be triggered almost by anything? Yeah, Jacqueline had a _lot _of those.

"We'll start with the knives, then," Jacqueline could hear Finn saying as she stood a bit awkwardly in the center of the room. "Sparring and blocking and stuff."

"No, she, uh, already used those when she trained with me," Tony pointed out, glancing over at her. He smiled, adding, "And she was pretty good with them, too."

Jacqueline blushed, of course — compliments always incited that sort of the thing, no matter whom they came from. She smiled back, trying to show her gratitude. "Um, thanks."

Finn's gaze looked very cold and harsh, his jaw set into a tight line. Turning away from Tony and Jacqueline he ran his hands over some of the weapons hanging on the wall, he muttered sarcastically, "Great. We'll do something _else_, then."

If Jacqueline had just been alone with Finn, she might've asked him what was making him be so irritable. Frankly, it was annoying Jacqueline a bit, but she didn't want to say anything about it in front of Tony, whom she thought was the reason Finn was acting this way, but wasn't quite sure.

"Could I try the, um, bow and arrow?" Jacqueline asked, trying to be helpful. She'd just randomly chosen a weapon she actually knew the name of, but it was better than watching Finn and Tony try to decide on something she could use while they trained her.

Finn didn't say anything — _what a surprise, _Jacqueline thought — but Tony smiled again, reassuring her. "Sounds good. I'll go set up the targets."

He walked off, leaving Jacqueline and Finn by themselves. Jacqueline swallowed a gulp, trying to pluck up her courage to do _something. _She blinked twice, trying to push away all of her nervous thoughts and took a few steps towards where Finn was standing, looking over the different bows and quivers.

"Hey, Finn?" she asked, her voice soft and sweet, trying to persuade him to give her an answer about why he was acting so oddly without Tony hearing them. "Are you, um… okay?"

"Yeah," he said shortly, not looking at her. "I'm fine."

_Sometimes, he's as bad of a liar as I am, _Jacqueline thought. "You just seem to be in a bad mood."

"So what if I am?" Finn pulled a few arrows off of a shelf, putting them inside the quiver. "Why do you care?"

"Because I—," Jacqueline began, but Finn had already moved away from her, going near Tony again. He was acting as though he hadn't heard her, but Jacqueline knew he had.

_So much for getting answers, _she thought bitterly, but joined the two boys anyway. It was going to be a _long _day.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **So there you have it! Not a lot of Finline in this chapter, but I wonder what's got Finn so annoyed… ;) It's kind of obvious, so I'm betting you all picked up on it. Anyways, I like this chapter, and I hope you did, too. And please answer my Random Review Request when you finish reading my fairly pointless Author's Note and Stuff.

Also, because I have tons of school stuff coming up, updates will generally be about a week apart. Sorry for any inconvenience, but I need to focus on sports tryouts and other "incoming high school freshman" stuff.

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"_Maybe it's because Tony's here? _she thought, wishing that something involving that boy, for once, could be a little less confusing."

**MY RANDOM REVIEW REQUEST: **Do you have a favorite scene from AGL? If you do, tell me in a review! :)

**My review goal for this chapter is 365 reviews, so remember to review! It will mean a lot to me, especially if you answer my Random Review Request. **

**Have a great week if I don't get to talk to you. And sorry for any grammatical / spelling errors. Love you guys!**

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi **


	36. Chapter Thirty-Five

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue. Also, everything about the weapons in this chapter, I got from Google. So don't hold me to any of this stuff in case it's wrong, okay? Thanks.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hi, guys. It didn't take me a week to update! I mean, it took six days, but it's a long chapter, so that's good. I'm not in love with this chapter, but I had to set up the next one – which is going to include some _major _Finline stuff, specifically about Jacqueline's past. _That _one will be really good, I guarantee it. The Author's Note at the end will include some things about updates and the like, so be sure to read it if you usually don't.

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**Reading Addicted: **Aww, thank you! And, actually, I didn't start thinking about that until only a month or two ago as I was writing this. I'd say it takes place about twenty years after the events of CoHF, whenever that is. Clary and Jace are thirty-six years old, because I pictured them getting married at eighteen and having Finn at twenty.

**Guest: **Your review almost made me cry. It literally made my day when I read it. So thanks for that. :)

**Beth: **There will be lots of them, I assure you! :)

**Booklover1598: **Ooh, I'm glad you liked it! Keep paying attention to Kristal, because she's going to have some major influence at the end of AGL.

**MidNiteFay415: **I liked that scene, too, but I'm you liked it, because you and the rest of my reviewers are the ones I want the opinions of!

**Likethewordish: **I'm really glad you liked the Raphael part. I thought people wouldn't like it, so I'm glad you did. And it's okay if you have a lot of favorites; I don't mind. :)

**ClaceObsessed: **That's really nice of you to say. I'm not that good of a writer, but thanks. And read my Author's Note at the end for info about updates.

**Guest: **Tony, Finn, and Jack have lots of those scenes coming up, don't worry.

**JACY14: **Ooh, I like that too. I try to keep my Clace stuff as cute as possible. :)

**DauntlessShadowhunter479: **It will be very tense, of course, as it usually is with those three. And thank you so much! Good luck at your first day, too!

**Catia Rose: **It will take a little while longer for the kiss, but it's all planned out. It will be very dramatic, and very epic, I hope. And, wow, thanks so much! I'm not that good, but I appreciate you saying that. Your review made my day.

**Guest: **Happy Birthday! I'm glad I got to update for you. And Jacqueline will be singing a few more times, even about Finn… :)

**Remember to read the Author's Note at the end of the chapter! Enjoy!**

Chapter Thirty-Five

Finn couldn't get Jacqueline's expression out of his head, her blue eyes looking curious and disappointed as she stared at him a few moments ago, asking him questions about why he was acting the way he was.

He had never really understood what jealousy was like when he was dating Kristal, because there hadn't ever been a situation where he could have felt envious while watching her talk to someone else. There was no other boy that he had ever seen her flirt with, no one else like Tony.

It hurt to watch Jacqueline blush as Tony complimented her, much more than he thought it would've, which was, of course, why he was in such a bad mood. By the Angel, they had almost kissed _twice_ now! Surely, this had to count for something, didn't it? If only he hadn't gotten himself injured in Pandemonium, because otherwise, Tony wouldn't be here.

_If you hadn't gotten hurt, _he reminded himself, _Jacqueline could be hurt even more than you were — or worse. She could have died if you weren't there._

So, in the end, it was probably a better outcome with Tony here, Jacqueline being fine in the process, than Tony _not _being here and Jacqueline being hurt.

But this feeling still sucked.

Finn stood back, watching as Tony instructed Jacqueline on the proper way to hold a bow and arrow. She didn't look quite relaxed, shooting little nervous glances over at Finn from time to time, but it wasn't like she was exactly… uncomfortable, either. Tony was making her laugh every so often, obviously putting her worries at ease, and Finn couldn't push away the vibe that _something _was going on between those two.

The fact that Tony and Jacqueline hadn't trained together for all that long was tugging at him, though, telling Finn that it didn't make sense if they were actually flirting with each other. Sure, they knew each other for a little while, but they were little kids, in an orphanage. A friendship that had occurred so early in their lives shouldn't have carried over to the present day, after _eight _years of the pair not seeing each other.

Finn fought the urge to groan in frustration as Tony continued training Jacqueline without his help. This... this whole thing with the three of them was too confusing. He wished just something in his life could be easy, just _once_.

Unfortunately, however, nothing ever really seemed to work out that way when it involved Finn.

—•—

Jacqueline bit down on her lip, positioning the bow in her right hand the way Tony had shown her. Hopefully, her weird Shadowhunter skill she had with weaponry — the one Tony was convinced her messed up Runes had some sort of relationship with — would kick in soon because, at the moment, she felt nothing out of the ordinary, nothing supernatural or magical or even remotely... different.

Usually, she felt some sort of confidence in herself, knowing that she was pretty good at all of this. But today? Well, it was a far, _far_ different situation.

The bow that she grasped tightly felt heavier than she had imagined it should've felt, the shape of it feeling awkward around her thin fingers. What, would her only athletic talent she ever had _go away _after a few training sessions? Even if it had been some sort of weird fluke, why now? What had changed?

Jacqueline resisted a sigh, trying to pay attention to what Tony was telling her without drifting out into her thoughts. Finn was staring moodily off into the distance somewhere, his toned, Rune-covered arms crossed against his chest. She wondered what his problem was _now_. He always seemed to be mad about something, it felt like.

Of course, that wasn't always true. She was mad at things sometimes, too, and Jacqueline thought she was probably just overthinking — what a surprise — and reading too far into things. If Finn was in a bad mood, so be it. It wasn't exactly her problem.

It shouldn't be her problem at all, actually. Finn wasn't the type of guy she should get involved with, and he still had a thing for Kristal.

God knows she wished he didn't, though.

She felt like a broken record, thinking of all the same things, over and over again. Jacqueline was continually trying to convince herself that Finn was a bad idea, her thoughts feeling constantly repeated. She just wished that… that _something _could happen — good or bad, it didn't matter. If Finn could just tell her if he liked her or not, she could act — or not act, for that matter — on it, and her problem would be solved.

Life didn't ever seem all that simple, though, at least not to Jacqueline.

"Jacqueline?" Tony's voice pulled her back to reality, and she realized that she'd been staring at Finn without even noticing it. _Maybe he didn't see me? _she thought optimistically, feeling incredibly embarrassed.

Staring right back at her, however, was Finn, one of his trademark smirks playing across his lips. His all-too-knowing, green eyes showed that he had seen her staring at him, and that he found the whole matter funny. _Of course._ Jacqueline dropped her gaze immediately, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. How could he have this effect on her, when no one else ever had?

"S-sorry," Jacqueline replied to Tony, ignoring Finn and hoping she wouldn't further embarrass herself. "What, um, were you saying?"

"Well—"

"You shouldn't have that tight of a grip on your bow," Finn said suddenly, as if he had just noticed it, jumping into the conversation and cutting Tony off mid-sentence. There was a slight edge to his voice. "You look like you want to break the thing."

"I don't want to br—," Jacqueline began, but then she looked down at her hands, her knuckles turning almost white, and she broke off. She hated it when he was right.

Finn raised his eyebrows. In a normal situation, Jacqueline might've laughed at herself and at Finn's teasing, but there seemed to be a bit of meanness in his tone that prevented her from doing so. Something was definitely up with him, but it was obvious from their earlier conversation that he didn't want to tell her what it was.

"If you hold it like that, the arrow will go farther to one side," Finn told her firmly. "And you'll miss the target almost completely."

"Thanks for the advice," Jacqueline murmured sarcastically, though she did adjust her grip and loosened her fingers. She couldn't just completely ignore his advice, even if he _was _acting like an asshole at the moment — Finn did know what he was talking about (most of the time, anyway).

Tony, who hadn't spoken in a while, was still remarkably good-natured as he added his opinion. "But as you pull back on the string, try and keep _that _as tight as you can."

"Got it," Jacqueline said, trying to keep just as cheerful of a demeanor as he was. It was harder than she thought it would be, though, what with Finn staring her down. "Anything else?"

Both boys studied her for a moment, and Jacqueline immediately felt nervous about having both pairs of eyes on her. She'd grown a little more comfortable around people since she'd come to the Institute, of course, but any sort of attention focused on her was something that made her uneasy no matter what.

"Relax," the boys said, speaking at the same time. It incited a smile from Tony, the kind of boy who would be amused by that sort of thing, but Finn looked, well, like he had been looking this whole training session — a mixture of angry and irritated.

Tony walked up to Jacqueline first, going behind her. His arms were on either side of her body, her back facing him, and he took Jacqueline's hands, putting them in the correct position on the bow. Jacqueline would've flinched and pulled away from his grasp had the circumstances been different, but, although it still freaked her out a little bit, having someone else's touch on her wasn't quite so bad as it normally was.

Maybe it was because it was Tony. She didn't think he was flirting with her — to Jacqueline, it seemed like he was just trying to teach her how to properly use the bow and arrow, with no other goals other than that.

Right as Tony was saying, "There. Now you've got it right," Jacqueline looked up again, to where Finn was standing.

Or, rather, where he _had _been standing. Jacqueline, looking around the room for Finn, suddenly could hear the sound of a door loudly closing.

Finn had just left the training room, with no warning or explanation to neither Tony nor Jacqueline.

—•—

"And you need my help with this because…?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes, throwing her arms up in exasperation. "Because you're a girl, Jacqueline! I thought you might be a _little_ helpful when it came to clothes."

"Let me put this straight, Ness," Jacqueline said, fingering one of the many, many items of clothing that Vanessa had thrown onto the floor of her bedroom. "For the last time, I have absolutely no taste and no experience when it comes to clothes — _at all_."

After Finn had left the training room without so much as a goodbye to either Jacqueline or Tony, the rest of the lesson had gone on pretty much as expected. Tony had been less confident than he had been the last time — with no mention whatsoever of the "mystery girl" that he'd been practicing being confident in front of with Jacqueline — and Jacqueline's mysterious talent had kicked in at just the right time to make shooting the arrows much simpler.

Vanessa, around lunchtime, had grabbed Jacqueline a sandwich from the kitchen — "I knew you'd be hungry after training," she had told Jacqueline while all of this was going on. "And I didn't want you complaining the whole time that you wanted food when I needed your help with more important things." — and then had dragged her upstairs with her.

Apparently, Vanessa had plans this evening to go out with some other Shadowhunter friends to Taki's for dinner. She'd told Jacqueline a bunch of names of those who were going, but, although she was trying to listen, there were probably about ten people Vanessa had mentioned and she couldn't keep all of the Shadowhunter names straight.

Vanessa needed help picking out an outfit to wear, and even though Jacqueline had repeatedly told her that everything in her closet was fine, Vanessa still wanted her "advice". Because being a girl made you have fashion sense? Yeah, right.

Looking down at herself, Jacqueline was wearing a pair of loose sweatpants and a long-sleeved t-shirt that was a little too big on her. Still, it was comfortable and simple, and for lounging around the Institute after a long morning of training, that was perfectly fine with her. Besides, after her experience of walking around with a pair of skimpy pajamas in front of Finn, Jacqueline's insecurities about the way she looked had her dressing in a way that would cover all of her skin.

Vanessa threw another sparkly top onto the bed behind her on which Jacqueline was sitting. "What do you think of this one?" she asked, still facing her closet that was full of clothes.

"Too fancy," Jacqueline replied simply, turning over the shiny material in her palms and throwing it onto a pile of all the other "rejected" clothes, which was growing bigger and bigger by the minute.

"You think everything's too fancy!" Vanessa said exasperatedly, turning around and gesturing to her. "I mean, look at what you're _wearing_!"

Even though Vanessa was only teasing, Jacqueline pretended to be defensive. "Hey! I happen to _like _the clothes I wear."

"Uh-huh," Vanessa said, smirking and throwing another pile of clothes at Jacqueline. "Here, tell me what you think of these, will you?"

"All right, all right," Jacqueline said begrudgingly, sighing. She picked up the first piece of clothing Vanessa had tossed to her. "First of all, Ness, this is, like, a _dress. _A very pretty one, but it kind looks like that thing you made me wear to Pandemonium."

"So you don't think it's good for tonight?"

"Not really. It's just dinner at Taki's." Jacqueline couldn't believe Vanessa really wanted her opinion on this stuff, but she picked up the next thing she had gotten thrown at her. "Ness, this is a bathing suit, you realize that?"

"So?" Vanessa asked teasingly, but after seeing Jacqueline's wide-eyed expression, she quickly correct herself. "Jeez, Jack! I was _kidding. _By the Angel, I wouldn't actually wear a bathing suit to dinner."

"I don't trust you when it comes to that sort of stuff," Jacqueline replied, smiling. She was quiet, trying to ignore the familiar tightening of her stomach that she got when someone called her by that nickname.

"Jacqueline?"

"Hm?" She looked up, staring off into the distance for the second time today. She tried to think of a plausible excuse as to why she had let herself become distracted — not wanting to bring up Finn, of course, and that she had been thinking of him — and, holding the bathing suit in her hand, came up with something normal to say. "You know, I've never actually gone swimming before."

"_What_?" Vanessa was shocked. "You live in New York, and you're, like, an hour or two away from Long Island. You're saying you've never been to the beach, then?"

"Nope," Jacqueline said truthfully. "It's not that big of a deal—"

"Yes, it is!" Vanessa exclaimed. "I mean, all right, if you lived in some landlocked state in the middle of the country, you have a legitimate excuse to have never gone swimming, at least in the ocean. But you're so close to the beach, Jacqueline!" She paused, her eyes brightening. "What if we go tomorrow?"

Jacqueline raised her eyebrows. "It's September, Ness."

"It's not _that _cold yet. We could just hang out on the sand. And, besides, my birthday's coming up. Clary won't say no. She can't."

"If you say so," Jacqueline said, feeling a little timid like she always did when Vanessa had an idea.

"Come with me to ask her?" Vanessa's eyes were pleading.

"_Fine_. But, under no circumstances, am I letting you dress me for the beach. It's fall, and I'm not wearing a bathing suit. I can't swim anyways, so there's no point."

"But _Jacqueline_…."

The conversation, obviously, continued like this down the rest of the hallway where the two girls went to talk to Clary.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **First off, I want to say that I made a team at my high school. I'm very excited, but, although I know it's going to be busy, I have no idea exactly _how _busy I'm going to be. Chapters may be shorter – or it could take two weeks between updates or something – but I have no intentions on stopping AGL. Please bear with me, guys. Sorry about that.

And, I was rereading the Pandemonium chapter earlier this week, and, not to sound like an attention seeker (even though I will), but I honestly can't believe I still have people reading this story. Reading it again made me realize that it really wasn't all that good. I mean, it was okay, I guess, but not great. Is this a normal feeling for writers to have, that they think their work isn't that good? Or do I just have really sucky self-esteem? If anyone could respond to this, that would be awesome. Again, I'm sorry to sound like I'm seeking attention – I really don't mean to.

I guess that's it. Sorry for such a weird Author's Note, but please answer the above question if you get the chance. Thanks, guys. :)

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"She didn't look quite relaxed, shooting little nervous glances over at Finn from time to time, but it wasn't like she was exactly… uncomfortable, either."

**Remember to review, guys! It would mean a lot to me. Also, please answer the poll on my profile, and remember to favorite / follow! Thanks so much! **

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi**


	37. Chapter Thirty-Six

**DISCLAIMER: **See Prologue.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hi, everyone! Sorry about the wait. I had this chapter fully planned out, but somehow, every time I sat down at my computer, I would get really distracted and write maybe fifty words and then go do something else. But I finally finished, thank goodness, and I even added an extra Clace scene at the end, because I know some people have been requesting that – and, better yet, it's from Clary's POV. :)

Also, thank you to all of you who reviewed on the last chapter. It really made me feel a lot better about my writing – and about myself, for that matter – to know you guys like this story. Honestly, there were times where I was almost close to crying because of how sweet you all were. There wasn't anything negative mentioned at all, really and while that's perfectly fine normally, it was a nice change, so thanks for that. :)

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS: **

**JACY14: **I'm planning on having Simon and Isabelle come back, but I'm honestly not sure about Magnus and Alec. It's really hard for me to keep developing characters, and with this point in my writing, I'm only bringing in new characters to make the plot work better. At the moment, I don't think any Malec scenes will "fit" with what I have planned.

**Anonymous1397: **I do have a Clace scene at the end of this chapter, and I hope you like it. And thank you for saying that you thought my characters were realistic. It's something I'm constantly working on and that's one of things I have the most trouble with, so thanks. :)

**Luvmusic87: **Thank you! I really appreciate it.

**Guest: **Wow, thank you so much for saying this. Your review was one that I reread when I was feeling down about one of my chapters this week, and I bet I will again if I have to. So thanks. :)

**BubblyFanatic: **Woah, you read all of this in an hour? You're a fast reader, though my chapters are pretty short, so that could be it, too. And there is definitely a reason, but I won't give that away for a while yet. And, yeah, I love Finn – glad you do, too.

**DauntlessShadowhunter479: **You know, I never thought about Finn getting consoled by anyone until this review. Maybe I'll put it in a bonus chapter at the end of the story? I wanted to get right to this beach scene, which I hope you like. :)

**Missy1234567890: **And yes, I have a cute Finline scene planned. You'll find out about it towards the middle of this chapter.

**Babykatniss: **I will definitely try to recognize my writing ability more. Don't worry about long reviews; I love them. I'm trying to work on my "writing self-esteem", so thanks for your very kind review. :)

**Ayunat: **Yay, I love new reviewers! I haven't had them kiss yet because I have everything for their kiss planned out, and it involves a lot of stuff with Kristal and Tony and Vanessa that just hasn't been set up yet. It's been planned actually since around Chapter Ten or so. Glad to hear you're liking it!

**Likethewordish: **Thank you so much! And I will have a Jace and Finn scene, but not until the end of the story, I think – when things are getting pretty serious and dramatic in AGL.

**Awesomeness: **Thanks so much! That means a lot! :)

**ClaceObsessed: **I will definitely try to stop worrying about that. It might come up again sometimes, but your review (and everyone else's) is really helping me with everything, so thanks. And I actually love that song – it provided the inspiration for Kristal. At first, I was thinking of making her so nice that no one could hate her, but then I couldn't figure out how her and Finn would break up if she was so nice – and then she'd be too similar to Jacqueline. So then I tried to make her flat-out mean, but that felt too cliché. But that line "You smiled the whole way through it / I guess maybe that's what worse" was the part that made me provide this elaborate backstory that makes her nice sometimes, and not nice the other times. You'll find out why soon, but pay attention to her and her mood swings. :)

**Guest: **Jealous Finn makes me happy, too. Thank you for all the compliments because that makes me feel a lot better about myself. :) I really appreciate it.

**Of bookworms and nerdiness: **I made the soccer team, and yeah, it sounds like it's going to be crazy. And thank you!

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's going to be an actually happy chapter for once, which was kind of a nice change from the usual dramatic stuff. **

Chapter Thirty-Six

Usually, when Jacqueline felt self-conscious, it was normally because of something she had done — blushing every few minutes, stumbling over her words, and the like. Sure, it was sometimes about the way she looked, but, more often than not, that didn't really happen as much.

Today, though, after Vanessa had forced her to wear a two-piece bathing suit (one she had never worn, apparently, the price tags still attached) to the beach day trip Clary had agreed to, Jacqueline immediately had felt incredibly nervous about wearing something that showed so much skin. Sure, she was skinny — but too skinny, in all honesty. Her legs and arms were almost twig-like, and while maybe on a model that could look attractive, Jacqueline didn't feel the same way about herself. Besides, with the bathing suit showing her pale stomach and the outlines of her ribs, she felt fragile. Shadowhunters were muscled and athletic. Despite being thin, they could never look like someone that could be knocked over with the slightest touch.

Jacqueline, of course, had worn a light-colored shirt on top of it, much to Vanessa's dismay. She didn't think it was good to be so worried about the way she looked, but didn't lots of teenage girls do that? It wasn't an excuse for it, of course, but Jacqueline was hoping this wasn't some kind of thing she did on her own. In any case, it made her feel a bit better, and, besides — she wasn't going to be swimming anyway, so keeping the t-shirt on the whole day wouldn't be a big deal.

She dug her toes underneath the sand as she stifled a yawn. They'd woken up around seven o'clock or so, and though it would have only taken them an hour or so to get to Jones Beach normally, they had gotten stuck in some traffic and had arrived at the beach by about eight-thirty.

She was a little tired, and while driving had taken a comfortable spot in the farthest back seat of Clary's mini-van and fell asleep within a few minutes. Lizzie and the twins — who had "double-belted" together, which basically meant they shared a seat and a seatbelt, since they didn't have enough seats in the car for everyone — sat in the back with her, and she didn't think either of them would mind if she slept. (Jacqueline was especially grateful in that instance, however, that she didn't snore.)

Vanessa, Eddy, and Finn, taking the middle row, were the only other "Institute kids" coming, as Tony had insisted that Kristal come home with him to visit with their parents for some reason or other. Personally, Jacqueline was just grateful that she wouldn't have to watch Kristal flirt with Finn all the time — or see the way Kristal would, presumably, strut around the beach and feel confident in a bikini.

It was unseasonably warm today — despite the fact that, at least in the New York City and Long Island areas of New York, it would usually start getting a bit cooler in September — so there were actually some lifeguards present at the beach.

Jones Beach _was_ crowded, full of mundanes, but Clary had glamoured all the older kids (along with Jace and herself) so no one without the Sight could see their Runes. _That doesn't really affect me, though, _Jacqueline thought jealously, thinking of her Runes that didn't work.

Still, they just looked like a big group of kids — along with a tired set of parents — and Jacqueline didn't mind fitting in for once. She had a book from the library with her, and was reading on one of the many towels Clary had packed, like many of the other beachgoers.

Everyone else — besides Jace and Clary, who were standing at the water's edge with Eddy — was swimming in the waves. She could see Lizzie's red hair sticking up as she splashed an amused Finn, who was standing in water that was probably up to his waist, throwing a piece of seaweed at him. Chris and Isaac were doing something with a body board, laying on the cushioned piece of plastic and "riding" the waves onto the sand. Vanessa was doing some graceful swimming out in the deeper water, and she could see her talking to some boy who was around her age — probably flirting with him, Jacqueline thought.

Jacqueline smiled, turning back to her book. She couldn't help but think that this was probably the happiest she'd felt in a long time.

—•—

Finn, from his spot in the shallow ocean waves, could see Jacqueline reading on the shore. She looked content, lost in her thoughts and imagination, and Finn smiled slightly as he glanced over at her. When his mother had told him that neither Tony nor Kristal was coming to the beach today, it had taken great force of will for Finn to resist pumping his fist in the air in happiness.

That would've been a bit of an overreaction, of course, but, then again, he'd been overreacting yesterday in the training room, too. He had to get this... this relationship thing he had with Jacqueline under control, that way he could watch her with Tony and not freak out every five seconds.

It wasn't going to work out if he just stormed out of the room like an _idiot _again. Just because he was extraordinarily jealous of the way Tony could help Jacqueline hold a bow the correct way — and hold her hands, even for only a brief moment, in his own without her cringing or turning away — it didn't mean that Finn had to act coldly and bitterly whenever he was around the two of them.

He assured himself that Tony and Jacqueline had nothing going on between them, but yet he still thought that, perhaps, if he brushed off the two's relationship as something that wasn't serious, he'd be blindsided if something real did develop eventually.

Lizzie, in Finn's arms, looked up at him curiously, her red pigtails sticking up from the seawater. "Finn, what'cha lookin' at?

He felt himself get drawn back into the real world by the sound of his little sister's voice, immediately feeling embarrassed because, once again, he'd been staring at Jacqueline. Thankfully, she was still looking down at her book and there hadn't been any chance of her seeing him. "Nothing, nothing," Finn muttered, smoothing down Lizzie's hair and tearing his gaze away from Jacqueline.

Lizzie smiled at her brother as he fixed her pigtails and, even though he was facing her, tapped him on the shoulder and then pointed at Jacqueline. "Why doesn't Jacqueline come and swim with us?"

"Not sure, kiddo," Finn said, but he quickly and lightly pushed her arm down. When she looked up at him again in confusion, he added, "You know Mom's told you that pointing is rude."

"Uh-huh," Lizzie said. "But Mommy's not here right now." She paused, grinning mischievously, knowing Finn wouldn't tell on her, but still looked back in Jacqueline's general direction. "Jackie looks pretty from over here, doesn't she?" she said thoughtfully, tapping a finger on her chin.

Finn's eyes widened at his sister's comment, but he couldn't help but sneak a glance over at her anyway. Looking so relaxed on such a peaceful beach, the sun shining on top of her pale hair, Jacqueline did look pretty. But, then again, she always looked pretty to Finn, so it wasn't like it was that much of a surprise.

"Finn? Why aren't you saying anything?" Lizzie tilted her head to the side questioningly. "And why's your face all red? Finn?"

"I… I've got to g-go do something, okay, Liz?" Finn stammered, feeling nervous all of a sudden as he got an idea. He pushed a piece of hair away from his eyes, hoping that his rapid heartbeat would slow down and his blush that Lizzie had pointed out would fade. "You're going to hang out with the twins for a while, sound good?"

She smiled. "Okay!" Like almost everything she said or did, Lizzie was enthusiastic.

Finn hurriedly adjusted her in his arms, and did something in between a swim and a walk as he moved through the water. It was shallow — there was no way his mother was going to let him take his four-year-old sister to a spot where the water was too deep — but the constant crashing of the rushing waves made it a bit harder to hand Lizzie off to Chris.

Still, though it had taken a minute or two for Finn to reach the twins, he couldn't help but smile as he himself started to walk out of the water. As nervous as he might be, he knew _exactly _what he was going to do next.

—•—

Jacqueline was still entirely lost in her book as she sat on the beach, not even noticing Finn's presence for a minute until he cleared his throat. She tilted her head back to see him, as he was standing up and towering over her, and was surprised.

Aside from the fact that he was shirtless and had water dripping off of him — something that Jacqueline had to not think about so she wouldn't blush, but something of which she was fully aware — he looked incredibly different from the angry boy she had seen in the training room yesterday. His eyes were bright, and he had a nervous smile on his face. "Hey," he said, a little too quickly.

"Um, hi," Jacqueline said, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.

Finn's voice sounded a bit shaky, though, the words running more closely together as he spoke more quickly, and she couldn't fathom what the reason for that would be. "Why — why aren't you swimming, Jack?"

"Oh, I, um…" She trailed off, shrugging. "I can't exactly… swim."

Finn raised his eyebrows teasingly, the nervous air that had been surrounding almost completely disappearing. "You can't _exactly _swim?"

Jacqueline laughed, smiling at her hands that were on her lap. "Not at all," she said, correcting herself. "I can barely _walk _without tripping over my own feet — what makes you think I'd be able to swim?"

He grinned. "Care to test that theory?"

"What _are _you talking about?" Jacqueline asked, more confused now than ever. The combination of seeing Finn looking almost happy for once, coupled with the strange way he was speaking, left her in a state of bewilderment.

"We're going on a walk," Finn stated, smiling again. (_What is up with all this smiling? _Jacqueline wondered.) "Ness told me you've never been to the beach, which means that you've obviously never taken a _walk_ on the beach."

"A walk? Finn, there's hundreds of people here. There won't be any room."

"Not necessarily," he replied. "Sure, it's really crowded — but only in the spots that are right near the parking lots. Once you get in between those spots — they call them 'fields' — they don't have lifeguards set up and people can't go swimming there, so there's generally not a lot of people."

"So I guess that means we're going on a walk then, huh?" Jacqueline asked, pretending to sound a little bored.

Finn immediately ran his fingers through his wet hair nervously, stumbling over his words like Jacqueline used to do. "I-I mean if you, um, don't, uh, want to—"

"I'm kidding!" Jacqueline felt a little bad; she'd only been trying to tease him a little, like they usually did. He looked so _nervous_, though — it was like an alternate universe or something, since normally Jacqueline was the one who stuttered and was teased.

"No, no," he said, sounding a little lost in thought. "It's fine." Finn held out his hand to her, leaning forward a little bit so he could reach her, as she was sitting on the ground. "You want to go now?"

Jacqueline smiled, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach that she got from taking his hand. But this time, it wasn't bad memories of her past and her life in the orphanage that her nervous — it was _him_. "Yeah, I'm ready."

—•—

Clary smiled as she watched Finn call out some sort of goodbye to her as he took Jacqueline's hand and helped her up. Like any mother would be, she was a little nervous to see Finn go off walking down the beach with Jacqueline alone, but she knew he would be okay. He was sixteen, the same age she had been during the Mortal War, and he knew what he was doing.

What worried her the most, though, was if he got hurt again by another girl. Although Kristal had been pleasant and kind in the beginning of her and Finn's relationship — surprisingly unlike her mother, whom Clary hadn't ever really liked — as time went on, she'd started to act differently. Finn had been telling her about the way she'd been growing more distant, and Kristal had been less and less polite to herself and to Jace as the weeks went by, too. Though Clary liked Jacqueline now, respected her, even, especially with that song she had sung directly to Kristal, she couldn't help but wonder if things were going down that path again.

Clary always tried to think back to her teenage years when she was struggling to be a good parent to Finn. She knew she'd always have to make decisions that he wouldn't agree with and give him curfews and the like, but didn't want to judge Jacqueline based solely on the way Kristal had acted. Despite the fact that the two girls were extraordinarily similar in looks, their personalities and actions were about as different as you could get.

She thought she felt this way because of her mother, Jocelyn. Though Jocelyn had grown to care for Jace, there was a point where whenever she looked at him, she could only see Valentine. It was horrible to think about, and even though Jace had been incredibly anxious when she was first pregnant with Finn — he was afraid he'd turn out to be as cruel of a father as his own — Jace was remarkable with their children, and with Vanessa and his "nephews", Chris and Isaac.

Though he still had glimpses of his sarcastic teenage self that came out every so often, he was different now. He'd changed, although so had she. She wondered if being a parent did that to you.

However, she still smiled, watching Finn and Jacqueline act a little awkwardly and nervously with each other as they walked farther and farther down the beach. "Jace?" she asked.

"Hm?" Jace was holding Eddy in his arms, trying to put sunblock on his fair skin. "I'm a little busy here," he teased.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Clary said, laughing. "No, it's just… Were we that bad when we were first together?" She gestured to Finn and Jacqueline, and she could see Finn doing that nervous habit of his when he ran his hands through his hair. "Like, that nervous and all? Be honest."

"Oh, yeah, definitely," Jace said, grinning. "But only you — not me. I was perfectly relaxed the entire time. _You_ were the one who was acting like an idiot."

"Oh, really?" Clary rolled her eyes, knowing full well that he was teasing her. Smiling, she kissed her husband lightly on the lips.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **So, was that not an adorable chapter? I thought it was pretty darn cute, even for Finline and Clace. Personally, I think I like Nervous Finn almost as much as I like Jealous Finn. I actually thought I might make the beach thing only this chapter, but it will definitely continue to the next chapter, and maybe even the one after that, I don't know.

By the way, if you get a second, could you favorite / follow this story if you're not already? It's a way of promoting my story, and it will help me out so much. (Only four more followers to 100!) I mean, only do it if you actually really like it and think it's worthy of favoriting / following, not just because I'm asking you. :)

**MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS CHAPTER: **"Though Jocelyn had grown to care for Jace, there was a point where whenever she looked at him, she could only see Valentine. It was horrible to think about, and even though Jace had been incredibly anxious when she was first pregnant with Finn — he was afraid he'd turn out to be as cruel of a father as his own — Jace was remarkable with their children, and with Vanessa and his "nephews", Chris and Isaac."

**I hope you liked it! School starts for me this week, so I don't know when the next update will be, sorry! Remember to review, and have a great week!**

**Until next time,**

**-Mimi**


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